New CO
by dleep
Summary: After Zack is captured, a new commanding officer drops in on Logan. ! COMPLETE !
1. Keeping a hero down

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor make any money from, Dark Angel. I really really wish that I did, but I don't. I'm a poor, suffering university student. I have no money. I have nothing. Don't sue. 

A/N: This is my very first fanfic, so let me know what you think. I don't know if I should continue the story, or where to go with it, so let me know! Also, they've only *just* started screening the second season here, so I'm a little behind, and missing some details. Forgive me for turning Logan into a drunk, I read a summary of one of the season 2 eps, and thought it was a funny idea. 

Keeping a hero down

*** Foggle Towers, NIGHT***

There was a loud bang as the bottle hit the bottom of the trash bin Logan kept in the corner of his study. He stared at it blankly. Three months ago, when he was still playing basketball, he would have taken a few seconds to silently gloat over making the shot. Now… He slumped back down onto the desk and sighed. Drunk again. It didn't happen every night, just every night that he missed Max. Which was every night that he was conscious. As he faded into sleep, he relived the last few days he'd spent with her, yet again. 

"If only she could see me now." Logan slurred. "The _great _eyes-only…" he lowered his head into his hands and succumbed to an alcohol induced sleep. 

Across the street, on top of the very same building Max had once used to check out Logan's apartment, stood the figure of a man, consumed by shadows. With his enhanced vision, he watched Logan, and took in the details; drunken man, picture of a girl taped to the computer, the built up files, large amount of computer equipment, and empty bottles. He shook his head in disgust. This couldn't be the guy he was looking for. He'd been watching the place for days, and many a bottle had been pitched at the trashcan. Still shaking his head, and now scowling, the figure scouted the exterior of the penthouse, his eyes glimmering when they fell on the skylight.

***Jam Pony, DAY***

"Packages ain't gonna deliver themselves, bip bip bip!" Came the drone of Normal, Jam Pony's self-professed god. Three bike messengers rolled their eyes simultaneously, sombre looks on their faces. 

"Have a little respect mun," came the reply, spoken with a heavy accent. Herbal Thought turned to look at his boss. "Today's a sad day for all of us. Max 'as been gone for t'ree months." Sketchy, as well as a third messenger, Darin, nodded in agreement. Normal sighed, and looked at each messenger in turn. 

"Well, grieving time officially ends in five minutes. These packages aren't gonna move themselves." As an afterthought, he added, "Still no word from Max, huh? I wouldn't say goodbye to the likes of you either." The look from the three messengers in front of him was enough to silence him, on that topic at least. 

"And where the firetruck is Original Cindy?"

***Space Needle, DAY***

"Guess Original Cindy don't know why she didn't believe your boy, suga. He got all upset an' all, saying how you died in his arms. Just didn't feel it. An' Original Cindy has a feel for these things." The lone figure on top of the space needle sighed. She looked around, as if waiting for Max to walk up beside her, but there was no one. Not even the usual onslaught of drug dealers and street kids that frequented the needle. She sighed again.

"He ain't doin' too good. I'm gonna take care of it. Original Cindy's been puttin' it off, but she'll look after her homegirl's business. Make sure your boy gets looked after." Sighing again, Original Cindy looked down upon the broken city below. "Freedom, boo. If nothing else, Original Cindy is glad you got your freedom from those black helicopter guys, wanting to mess you up good. Freedom. Whatever. Dead or not, you still my boo. Take care of Diamond." She turned, walking slowly away from the lookout point. Her voice catching in her throat, she whispered, "Miss you forever suga." 

***Foggle Towers, DAY***

Banging on the door roused Logan from his sleep. Someone wanted into his apartment. Now. He groaned, lifting his head slightly. He groaned louder, wondering briefly how many bottles it had been last night. The banging continued. Logan felt around his desk for his glasses. More banging. No glasses. Where were his glasses? Where were the headache pills? The banging not subsiding, Logan wheeled himself to the door and yelled a loud 'Who is it?' before regretting yelling anything, and holding his head. If possible, the hangovers were getting worse. 

"It's Original Cindy. Open this door before I get all Manticore on your ass!" the voice on the other side of the door cried out. Logan groaned again, not appreciating the joke. He pulled back the locks on the door, and turned the handle. 

Original Cindy took it all in; the messy living room, dishes piled high in the kitchen, and through the open door to the study, a trash can with at least two empty bottles of something alcoholic. And the man in front of her. She'd never seen a sorrier sight. 

"Been busy, Suga?" she asked, not waiting for an invitation into the apartment. Catching sight of more empty bottles in the kitchen, she raised her eyebrows. 

"Original Cindy sees you've been _very_ busy." He glared at her.  

"What are you doing here?" He growled, still very aware of the state of his head. 

"Now, is that any way to treat a guest? Original Cindy got your back, boo! She came to get you out of this slump you been in. You don't make a good drunk." Logan looked up angrily. His eyes narrowed. 

"This is not," he began, his tone icy, "a _slump_. This," he continued, "is called mourning. I'm mourning the loss of a friend. I'm not in a slump. And I don't need your help, or you 'getting my back.' Thank you." Original Cindy lost her smile, and narrowed her own eyes. Adopting Logan's icy tone for herself, she answered, 

"Mourning? You call this mourning? This is a selfish cycle of self-pity, this ain't no mourning. How dare you call it that? Don't know what my boo ever saw in you. Sure as hell know she wouldn't see it now. The great Eyes-Only, forgetting the world and thinking only about his own sorry ass. Might as well give up and call yourself 'I, only' " She joked, though her tone stayed the same. 

"How do you know about that?" Logan asked angrily. She was right, which only served to make him angrier. "Who have you told? What have you-"

"Original Cindy ain't told no one." She cut in. "Not that they'd believe her, even if she did. Pathetic boy like you, little lost rich boy-"

"Enough!" Logan exclaimed. He sighed, and lost the ice from his voice. "I know what you're trying to do, I really do. I think I even appreciate it. It's just, just…" He looked down. "I need more time." He finished softly. Original Cindy looked him over, knowing she'd lost, for now anyway. She headed toward the door, but stopped, and turned, looking back at him. 

"Just don't take too much time, suga. The world's still broken, and there ain't too many heroes out there." He looked up at her and gave her a small smile. 

***Jam Pony, DAY*** 

"Come on people, bip bip bip! Why can't I have decent, hardworking employees?" Normal muttered to himself. 

"'Cause decent, hardworking employees ain't stupid enough to wanna work here." Original Cindy answered, walking past his desk. 

"Hold it missy!" Normal exclaimed, bringing her back. "You just think you can waltz in here at any time of the day? Think the departure of your friend means you can take over as most punctual employee?" A glare from OC put him in his place. 

"Original Cindy had some shit to do." Normal shook his head and muttered something inaudible. He tossed her a package. 

"Here, hot run, 415 Euclid." Normal barked. She turned and grinned at him. "What?" he asked. 

"One-oh-five, Normal." She answered brightly. "Original Cindy's on a break." She tossed the package back, and walked to where Herbal and Sketchy were sitting, watching the TV, and doing very little else. They each looked up, and began their greetings, when a familiar face and voice caught all of the messengers' attention. 

"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city."

The bike messengers cheered at seeing Eyes Only appear on the screen. 

The cable hack continued. "Since the early 1990s, billions of your tax dollars have been diverted from legitimate government programs to fund secret experiments in genetic engineering…."

"He's back!" Sketchy exclaimed. "Thought we'd lost him!"  Original Cindy smacked his head. 

"Sketch, you fool, don't you know anything? Takes a lot to keep a hero down." She smiled, as the cable hack went on, detailing the ins and outs of Manticore.  


	2. Deja vu

Déjà vu

***Foggle Towers, NIGHT***

Logan sifted through the new e-mail on his computer, and silently cursed himself for not checking it earlier. Three months was a long time to go without checking in with informants and sources, and answering over one hundred messages, some of them three months old, was a painstaking process. Though not so painstaking, he thought with a smile, as the killer hangover he'd had only the day before. The day when Original Cindy had decided enough was enough. Logan's smile broadened. He'd have to send her something. Maybe a bottle of wine wouldn't be the best choice. 

From the same building across the street, the same figure watched, using his genetically enhanced vision. He'd seen the girl with the miles of attitude come in and give Logan a good talking to. So desperate to hear the exchange, the man had left his position on top of the building, and briefly relocated to Foggle towers, floor below the penthouse. Not wanting to jeopardise his new position, or his old one, he'd stayed there all night, listening to the sounds above. The sounds of Eyes-Only. It had been when the figure left the building the next day that he'd seen the broadcast. The Manticore broadcast. That had clinched it. Eyes-Only was the right guy; he knew what he was talking about. It was time to act. 

He waited for the cover of darkness, then moved, much in the way Max had, the first time she'd broken into Logan's apartment. The black-clad figure had no way of knowing that, as he prepared an attack from the skylight, he was retracing his sister's steps almost exactly. 

Logan paused mid sentence, his fingers resting on the keyboard. He thought he'd heard the skylight creak open. Not possible. Or was it? Though he knew it couldn't have been Max, Logan wondered if it could be Zack. Logan shuddered at the thought of a re-programmed Zack. Regular Zack was bad enough, without throwing in an order to kill. He thought about Syl and Krit. Could be either of them. Or neither of them. Or not the skylight at all. He took his gun out of the desk drawer, and wheeled around slowly, waiting to hear the telltale 'thud' of a break-in. 

The skylight creaked when he opened it. Damn. He listened to the sounds of the apartment, and heard the previously constant sound of typing cease. Element of surprise gone. Not a good start. Not a good soldier. The man in black allowed himself a small smile when he thought of what Lydecker would do if he knew about this. Creaky skylight. Amateur. 

He slid from his position, and began to action plan B. 

Logan waited again for the thud of a body, catlike or not, hitting the floor. He thought about the chance of the intruder sliding down on a rope, and repositioned himself to get a view of the floor below the skylight, while remaining relatively hidden. He had to fight from laughing. Hide from a genetically engineered soldier? The thought made him smile, but the smile faded fast as he realised the potential danger. Soldier. Manticore. Cable hack. Soldier. What were the words? Duty, discipline, mission. Logan's hand tightened around the gun, and he kept his eyes on the skylight. 

Plan B. The stranger grinned to himself over plan B. Plan B is not an option that Zack would approve of, he thought to himself. Well, Zack isn't around. He raised his hand, ready to strike…

Logan realised he was holding his breath, and let it out steadily. He swallowed, and wiped sweat from his forehead. Having heard nothing from the skylight in almost ten minutes, Logan was worried. This would be the first time he'd faced Manticore without… well, without- 

Logan jumped in surprise as the doorbell rang. 

Plan B. Gotta love plan B. He grinned again. Lost the element of surprise? Ring the doorbell. Shake things up. Great plan. Would the target answer? Remains to be seen. Would the target have a choice? Not likely. Not when an X-5 could break down the door, or pick the lock in under a minute. Five more seconds, then I'm ringing the doorbell again, the impatient X-5 thought. 

Logan was more than surprised when the doorbell rang. The doorbell? A would be assassin ringing the doorbell? Zack, in all his visits to the apartment, had never once rung the doorbell. Or used the door, for that matter. Logan had serious doubts as to whether Syl or Krit would use the door either. The doorbell rang again, and Logan had no idea what to do. Actually, he quite liked the idea of hiding under the covers, hoping that no bullet would arrive to rid him of use of his arms, as well as his legs. Not really an option. Cursing his curious nature, he unlocked the door. 

The hallway was empty.

Re-locking the door, Logan shook his head, unsure of what to expect next. The gunman could very well be waiting for him to exit the apartment to look around, he'd thought to himself, so he'd gone back inside. This was ridiculous, and he was still sweating. He wheeled his chair around. 

There was a man in his living room. Standing under the skylight. 

Logan raised his gun, aiming it at the man in his apartment. He looked around twenty, with dark hair, and blue eyes. Not Zack, he thought. Not Krit either. This was someone different, though he certainly fit the profile of an X-5. Physical perfection, and the right age. Eyes-Only tightened his grip on the weapon.

"Hi!" The unknown man said brightly. He looked Logan up and down, settling briefly on the gun in his hands. 

"Hi." Logan answered, in an even tone. "You wanna tell me who you are and what you're doing here?" He didn't lower the gun, even though he knew it'd be useless on an X-5. 

"Come on, Eyes-Only!" The stranger teased. "Thought you were smarter than that! Can't you guess?" Logan raised his eyebrows. The stranger may have been teasing, but he didn't seem to be mocking, which was interesting. Mocking was Zack's favourite tone of voice in Logan's mind. This one was certainly different to Zack. Very different. Logan decided to play along. 

"Well, I'd guess, skylight and all, that you might be an X-5?" Logan asked, eyebrows still raised. The man standing opposite him smiled, showing a set of perfect teeth. Logan briefly struggled to remember ever seeing Zack smile. He couldn't think of a single occasion. 

"There you go! Knew you couldn't be all superheroish and not know a thing or two." The X-5 walked forward to Logan. Logan had put the gun in his lap, but moved it so he was sitting on it when the man started walking closer. The stranger laughed, and Logan knew for sure that he'd never seen Zack laugh. He wasn't even sure if laughing was something that was accounted for in Zack's genetic makeup. The man reached out a hand, as if in handshake. Logan stared at it briefly, before grasping it with his own, and shaking it. 

"Logan Cale." Logan stated. He knew that the stranger already knew his name, but stated it by way of encouragement for the stranger to do the same. Which he did. 

"X-5 205. Zane." Zane replied. 

Logan took a deep breath. Max's brother. What did he want? Revenge? Redemption? Answers? This is going to be a long night, Logan thought to himself. 

"What can I do for you, Zane?" Logan asked, still not completely at ease. 

"Ah, this and that." The younger man answered. Logan was amazed at his tone. For an X-5, Zane was very easy going, and the complete opposite of his brother. More like Max, he thought sadly. 

"I have some things to ask you, and I need a favour. Actually, a few favours." He grinned again, and Logan found himself beginning to like this new X-5. 

"Things to ask me?" Logan looked down. "Like what?" He held his breath, waiting for Zane's response. 

"Caught your cable hack last year. You know, X-5s, your cover has been blown, move on… and I figured, since you're still alive, that you must know Zack." Logan looked at him. It was certainly true that Zack would have killed Logan if given the chance, especially if he had jeopardised the X-5s.

"I know Zack, a little anyway. Call him a friend of a friend." Logan stated simply. He had no idea of how much Zane knew about his connections with Manticore. Best to leave Max out for the minute.  

Zane was nodding. "Heard from him lately? Contact number's down, and it doesn't fit his profile." 

*Flashback*

Max, Zack, Syl and Krit going over the hill to attack Manticore. Cut to Krit, telling Logan and Lydecker that Manticore got Zack.

"Captured by Manticore." Logan answered. He lowered his eyes. "They killed Max too."

Zane took a step closer to Logan and looked sharply at him. 

"Max? You know Max too?" Zane's eyes darted to the open door of the study, and the picture taped up there. His enhanced eyesight studied the picture, as he had a flashback to younger days with Max. He studied Logan again. 

"What about the others? What do you know? Who do you know?" Zane's expression was eager, and he spoke quickly. Logan took a deep breath. 

"I only know about a few of them… Zack led Max, Syl and Krit on a mission to take down Manticore. They blew up the DNA lab, then got attacked by X-7s. And a re-programmed Brin. It was a revenge attack. Manticore killed Tinga."

Zane shook his head, taking it all in. "Max and Tinga dead, Zack captured, Brin re-programmed… what about Krit and Syl?"

"They're ok. I don't know exactly where they are, but they know how to contact me."

"That's it? That's all you know?" Zane's face held a familiar expression, which Logan recognised. It was the expression Max used to get when she thought about her brothers and sisters. 

"Well, almost. Ben. Ben was killed. That's all of them that I know of." 

Zane nodded, wondering whether to press the question about Ben's death. He thought best to leave it alone. 

"Gone to the good place." Zane smiled a different smile. He was silent for a few minutes, and Logan began to get uneasy, and curious.

"Hate to ruin your moment of family history, Zane," Logan began. "But what exactly are you doing here?" Zane laughed. Logan looked at him, still amazed at the differences in the Manticore brothers. 

"Hadn't heard from Zack. Contact number was disconnected, didn't get the new one, like I usually do. Thought it could have been something I'd done, Zack's always going on about me staying in the same place for too long, and he rags on me about my dog. But I didn't think I'd done anything unusual to piss him off. It got clear that something was wrong, so I headed here." 

"Why here? Why me?" Logan asked, not liking the growing number of people that knew his secret. 

"I wanted to find you because of the X-5 broadcast. Thought you might know where Zack was, where to contact him or something. And if worst came to worst, which it looks like it has, I needed your help. So I started tracking down Eyes-Only. Television the way it is, didn't have to check long before I found out which city got the most broadcasts, and where they were clearest. Plus, a lot of your exposés hit pretty close to Seattle." He grinned. 

Logan raised his eyebrows, looking at Zane curiously. 

"But how did you _find _me?" Logan asked, realising that he'd heard Zane say more in twenty minutes than he'd heard Zack say in the entire time he'd known him. 

Zane's grin broadened. "Accident. Scoping your place for things to steal, saw the equipment. Let myself in while you were, well, sleeping, and checked out your system." Logan's eyes widened. Then, as he realised that Zane probably meant 'passed out' rather than 'sleeping,' he felt embarrassed, and angry with himself. He nodded. 

"Building across the street?" Logan asked, pointing. Zane followed Logan's line of sight to the building. 

"How'd you know? Lucky guess?" Zane could not bring himself to believe that his surveillance could have been made by this semi-sober man in front of him. 

"Hardly," Logan smiled, wryly. "It's the same building your sister watched me from when _she _robbed me." Zane laughed, and Logan joined in. Logan knew it was pointless to ask, but he did so anyway "How did you get past my computer's security? Passwords, encryptions, there's no hacker that could have done that…" Zane shook his head, looking amused. "But of course," Logan continued, "you're a pretty advanced hacker. And I'm willing to bet that you excelled in that class as a child." Zane nodded, still smiling. 

"So this favour that you need…" Logan questioned, wondering what the X-5 could want from him. Zane looked more serious for a moment, then answered, 

"I need to contact the others." Logan began shaking his head, thinking that he couldn't help Zane any more than he had helped Max. 

"Not like that," Zane continued, anticipating his response. He guessed that Max would have had Logan try to trace their other siblings. "I need you to get the contact number back up, and I need a way to know if it's been hacked, or tapped. Then I need to be able to contact the other 5s and tell them that it's back in action. Thought you'd help with another broadcast." Logan thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. Anything, he thought, for Max's family. He still had questions. 

"Why you? Krit and Syl were here, and they could have asked me, but they didn't. And they have my number, so either one could still have asked before now. Why didn't _they_ ask me to do this?" 

"_Will_ you do this?" Zane counter-questioned. 

"Of course." Logan responded immediately. Zane looked briefly relieved, then nodded his head.  

"If anything were to happen to Zack, I'm the next in charge. The new CO. That's how it was when we were in Manticore, that's how it is out of Manticore. It falls to me." He looked at Logan, a glint in his eye. "Not sure if Zack would be so happy at his successor. Not quite the same breed of soldier, figuratively speaking. Not serious enough for his liking." Logan laughed in agreement, again thinking of how much the two brothers differed. He smiled sadly when he thought of how much Max would have liked her brother. He had a sudden thought. 

"Jace!" he exclaimed, "I forgot about Jace!" Zane looked at him quizzically. 

Logan filled him in on the details of his dealings with Jace, then the other X-5s, saving Max until last, and talking long into the night. 

As Logan typed at his computer with Zane looking over his shoulder, he was reminded of the last X-5 that had stood in that same way. He smiled sadly, and, though knowing that Zane could hear him, even at low volume, whispered a goodbye to his Angel. He paused, looking down at his fingers on the keyboard, happy to be doing something for her, even if she could never thank him for it. 


	3. Communication Breakdown

Disclaimer: I still don't own Dark Angel. I still wish I did.

 A/N: Thank you very very much to all those that reviewed my first two chapters. I really appreciate reviews! In answer to a question, I am planning to bring Max back, probably around chapter 5. (Yep, I'm going to write more chapters!) What's the consensus? Virus or no virus? It's up to all of you- let me know!!! 

Sorry there hasn't really been much in the way of action yet. Hopefully, the story will get more action-ish soon!

Chapter three – Communication Breakdown

*** Fogle towers, DAY *** 

"Do you understand what I'm saying? He has the access code. It wouldn't be hacking if he knew the access code!" Logan exclaimed, frustrated. He had been trying to get the same message across to a stubborn X5 for the past ten minutes. Zane grinned at him in reply. 

"Do _I_ understand? _My_ IQ's off the chart. It's you, you're not doing it right. If you'd just let me touch your computer for five seconds…"

"Out of the question." Logan said firmly. "I keep telling you, it wouldn't be any use. If Manticore got the access code from Zack and used it, it wouldn't seem strange. It wouldn't show up as a hack into the phone line." 

Zane sighed. "Promise you. Five seconds. That's all I need. It's not like I haven't used your computer before." Logan glared at him. 

"No." Logan crossed his arms and stared at Zane, who smiled broadly, making Logan raise his eyebrows. "What?" Logan demanded. 

"You gonna stay here and guard the computer, or answer the door?" Zane replied, cocky. There was an immediate knock on the door. Zane laughed. "Cause I'm not getting that." He crossed his arms and pretended to be engrossed in what was already on the screen. Logan shook his head, and started toward the door. Knowing full well Zane could hear him, he cursed X5s everywhere. 

"Funny!" Zane called over his shoulder. "Bingo" he said more quietly, as telephone records displayed on the computer screen. "Four and a half seconds." He smiled to himself.

Logan smiled to himself as he walked to the door, exoskeleton humming. As stubborn as Zane was, Logan was really enjoying the company. And having something to do. He made a mental note to continue searching for Manticore's location. Maybe he should call the S1W for help. They'd probably be interested in checking out the VA office.

Logan opened the door. A short blonde woman stood on the other side of it. S1W, Logan thought to himself. What was her name? Anna? Ashley? 

"Asha." Logan greeted warmly. "Just the person I wanted to see." The blonde smiled back. Logan was suddenly very aware of the door to his office being open. He struggled to remember if he'd left anything around that would 'incriminate' him as Eyes-Only. He smiled, somewhat awkwardly, and turned away for a second. 

"Zane, shut the door." He whispered, knowing that the X5 would hear him. He turned back to Asha, smiling again. "Come in, Asha. How are you?" Logan headed back into the penthouse, and headed for the kitchen. Asha followed, eyes on Logan, for a moment forgetting why she had come. She stared after Logan, and looked around his home. 

"I, ah… good. I'm good. Thanks." She answered, then nodded when Logan held up a package of tea.

"What can I do for you?" Logan asked. The S1W were good to have as allies, but Logan didn't like their 'shoot 'em up' attitude. S1W had helped Eyes-Only out a couple of times, and Logan had returned the favour. He hadn't called Asha or her friends since Max had died. Logan blinked. Max had died. He took a deep breath and turned around. 

"Hadn't heard from you in a while. Thought you may have heard from the boss, that he might have a job for us. I mean, a job for the S1W." Asha blushed, but Logan, having turned again to make the tea, hadn't noticed. 

"Actually, he does have a job for you. He called this morning. He's following up a story, a favour to me. Suggested you and yours for the job."  

"What is it?" Asha asked, taking the cup Logan offered. She looked up at him, catching his glance toward the study. He looked back at her quickly. 

"VA records. Thinks they're running Manticore through the system. Pretty corrupt stuff happening there aside from that, withholding of ration cards, non-acknowledgement of war widows, thought your guys might be interested. Two birds…?" Asha was already nodding. She took another sip of her tea, and noticed Logan's eyes dart to the closed door again. 

"Are you busy? Am I interrupting something?" Asha asked, taking Logan by surprise. He looked at her, keeping his expression blank. "That's the second time I've seen you staring at that door." She continued. Logan looked up guiltily, and gave her a small smile. 

"Nothing too urgent. Just a job we're doing for the boss." Didn't hurt to sneak in mention of company, Logan thought. As much as the S1W were useful, and as nice as Asha was, he didn't want her surprise visits becoming more frequent. 

"Oh, you have company?" Asha asked in reply. In answer, Zane, having heard the entire conversation, burst out of the study, waving a sheet of paper. 

"Got it. No problems. Office layout, staff roster and- oh" Zane cut himself off, pretending he had just become aware of Asha's presence. Logan smiled, amused. If he didn't know better, he would have believed Zane's performance. In fact, he knew better, but still found it very hard to believe that he was acting. The X5 had genuine excitement written across his face, and waved what looked like the blueprints of an office. Zane was looking from Logan to Asha, as if in question. 

"It's ok. She's a friend. Safe. Go ahead." Logan stated, playing along with Zane's act. "Asha, this is…" Logan paused, unsure of what to call Zane.

"Zane Walker." Zane said, extending a hand. "I'm Logan's brother-in-law." Logan looked at Zane in surprise. Brother-in-law? Just where had that come from?

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Zane. I'm Asha." She was looking from Logan to Zane. "Are you married to Logan's sister?" 

Zane smiled. "I'm not married." He answered, seriously. Asha looked confused, but didn't ask anymore about how the two men knew each other. 

"Zane, Asha's with the S1W." Logan explained, pretending that Zane hadn't already heard their conversation. "I was just asking her about the VA job for Eyes-Only." 

"Excellent. He wants to get moving on that one. I've just got the office layout and the staff roster. I'm still working on the traffic that goes through there. Do you think your people would want to hit it during a busy time?" Zane looked Asha over. She didn't look tough enough to be a member of the S1W. Though he was sure he didn't look like a genetically engineered killing machine either. 

"I'll have to discuss it with them. In fact, I'm late for a meeting. I'd better be going. Logan, I'll call you and let you know about the job. Zane, it was nice to meet you."    

"It was nice to meet you too, Asha. Don't rush off on my account." Zane protested, though weakly. He wanted to get moving on the contact line. He looked Asha up and down and nodded again. Better to get her out of the place as well. Logan was still messed up over Max. Not a good time for Asha to try and make her move, which Zane could tell she wanted to, and was planning. He looked at Logan. Not interested, he decided, and probably has no idea. The X5 looked back to Asha, breathing in air through his nose. She was very interested. He could smell it on her. 

"No, I'd really better run. Have to get moving…" She smiled at Zane, then turned her eyes to Logan, who was standing, getting ready to walk her to the door. She looked briefly disappointed that Logan hadn't tried to talk her into staying. 

"Brother-in-law?" Logan asked as he entered the room, after seeing Asha off. "Where did that come from?"

"Close enough to brother-in-law. How else was I going to explain it? Hi Asha, Logan here used to date my genetically engineered sister. I suppose she's not really my sister, when you come right down do it, but we were created in the same lab, and we were both part of the same military unit. Oh, did I mention that? We were created to kill people. You know, assassinations, that sort of thing…" Zane laughed, and Logan, after a short hesitation, joined in. "Sorry, it just came to me. Did I ruin your chances with Asha?" Zane teased, bursting into laughter again at Logan's shocked face. 

"My chances with Asha? We're not like that." Logan immediately cringed at his choice of words. It was what he used to say about Max, and things were _definitely_ 'like that' with her. "I mean," he corrected, "I don't think of her that way." He looked at Zane's face. "But of course, you knew that, and you were just teasing. Again." Zane grinned. Logan smiled wryly. "It's great to know that I can be a source of entertainment to X5s everywhere." Zane laughed again, and once more, Logan joined in. 

"She wants you ba-aa-d." Zane managed to get out, while still laughing. 

"Sorry, I'm married!" Logan shot back. Then, remembering something, Logan stopped laughing. "Where did you get those plans from?" 

An hour later, still slightly annoyed, though grateful that Zane had practically stitched up all of the planning for the VA job, Logan sat reading phone records. Zane sat a few metres away from him, having already read the phone records, and making a map of all of the places the phone number had been called from, and where the access code was used.

"I still can't believe that phone companies keep these kinds of records." Logan stated, breaking the silence. 

"Privacy means nothing in a broken world, Logan."

"This is something Eyes-Only would want to know about." Logan continued, scanning the phone records. "What are you doing?"

"Mapping the locations and dates of phone calls that used the access code. Almost done." Logan shook his head in amazement, wishing for the millionth time that he had the abilities of an X5. 

"We're sure that the number can't be accessed without the code?" Logan asked for what seemed like the thousandth time. 

"Yes." Zane answered simply. 

"Then how can we access it?" Logan answered, smugly. Zane looked up from the map he was making. Logan thought he'd won, Zane could tell. Eyes-Only didn't like being outsmarted by him, with his own equipment, with his own work, in his own time. 

"Well, gee, Logie, hadn't thought of that." Zane said, dumbly. 

Logan got up and walked towards his computer. 

"I suppose it depends on the length of the code. I'm thinking that Zack wouldn't make it too easy, considering the amount of numbers X5s can remember. Maybe if we…" he caught sight of Zane's cocky face. "What aren't you telling me this time?" he asked, wondering how easy it would be to murder an X5. Zane's joking nature was a welcome change from his brother's, but it was taking Logan some getting used to. 

"I have the access code." Zane said simply, grinning at Logan. "Now how about making me lunch?"

"We're not finished." Logan countered. He didn't know if he should be mad at Zane, or happy that they'd just been saved from days of work. 

"Yes we have. The last time the code was used was two days before you last saw Zack. He dialled it from my home city, while he was visiting me. Manticore hasn't touched it." Zane put down his pen. "Just finished." He grinned broadly. 

"Should I even ask how you got the code?" Logan asked. "Or what, if you already had the code, you needed me for?"

"I got the code while you were talking to Little Miss S1W. Zack gave me a password that I could use to access a different file, where I would find the encrypted access code, but I needed better equipment than what I had. And I told you, I need you to broadcast that the line's up again. The 5s wouldn't risk checking in all the time, especially if the line looks compromised. I need to give them a signal." Zane rolled his eyes. "You know, for an underground hero, you don't remember details very well." He teased. "Now how about making me lunch?" 

Logan sighed, giving in. He set about making them both lunch, going over details in his mind. A line of conversation came back to him, and he jerked his head up, shooting Zane a nasty glare. 

"Did you just call me Logie?" 

*** Space Needle, NIGHT ***

"To all of those that have fallen before us, and died fighting the good fight." Logan said quietly, holding up a glass in toasted tribute. He was standing with Zane on top of the Space Needle, watching the streets of Seattle. 

It had been Zane's idea to get out of the apartment. They had been working all afternoon, picking through the VA stuff, as well as working on the contact number. Zane had brought up the Space Needle, and Logan, (though later regretting it) mentioned that it was Max's favourite place for reflection. Zane had immediately suggested they go up to 'say a proper goodbye,' something Logan couldn't argue with, despite his fear of heights. 

"To brothers and sisters that went before us, now dancing together in the good place." Zane toasted, holding up his glass. The champagne had been Logan's idea, and the bottle not cheap. They each looked out into the skyline, saying nothing. Logan, not quite trusting the exoskeleton to keep him steady on his feet, sat down, and sipped his champagne. 

"To Max." Logan whispered. Zane looked at him, and nodded. 

"To Max." The X5 repeated. 

The two men watched the broken city silently, each consumed by their own thoughts, each calling on different memories, and replaying them in their minds. 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"Would _you_ trust it if _you_ heard it?" Logan asked quietly. He'd been arguing with Zane for the past ten minutes, and was getting tired. Zane seemed to be putting a lot of faith in the Eyes-Only broadcast, and it was worrying Logan. 

"Yes." Zane stated simply. 

"X5s, sorry, but your CO is dead. I'm the new one, and the contact line is up again. Please check in. By the way, this definitely isn't Manticore, so no need to worry, your safety isn't being compromised." Logan said sarcastically, swinging his chair to face Zane. 

"Maybe not if it sounded like that…" Zane answered, with a small smile. "I get your point. I just, well…" Zane's voice trailed off. "I don't want to lose them again." He finished quietly. "We should be connected, even if it's only by one person. And they should know when, no, _if_ they're in danger. I have a responsibility to them." Logan shook his head. 

"Zane, you didn't ask for that responsibility. It was forced on you over ten years ago! They'll understand if you don't want to give up everything just to go chasing after them." Logan countered. "What about your job? Your friends?"

"What about my family?" Zane smiled. "They're my family. I can't desert them. I won't desert them." Logan recognised the look on his face. He'd seen the same look on Max's face many times in the past. He nodded his head. 

"So the broadcast…" Logan started. "What should it say?" Zane smiled, and grabbed a pen. 

"How about… X5s, re-establish contact with command. Line is secure. Repeat, line is secure." Logan laughed at Zane's attempt at a broadcast. "What??" Zane demanded, a mock-hurt look on his face. 

"You don't think that would seem suspicious? I'm already questioning whether or not your family is going to believe that they can trust this thing. You wanna throw in 're-establish contact with command?'" Logan smiled. "Keep it simple, to the point. Don't mention anything about a phone number. Or a secure line." Zane put the end of the pen in his mouth and chewed it. 

"How about just saying 'This message is for those known as X5,' the same way your last broadcast to us started." Zane began. "Then you can say 'check in with your CO' and then something about the message repeating until everyone checks in, like last time." Logan considered the message for a minute. 

"Nothing to prove that you're not Manticore?" He asked. Zane thought for a minute. 

"Ok, how about 'this is a message from the blue lady. Check in with your CO.' I'm almost certain that nobody at Manticore knew about the blue lady." 

Logan nodded, though still unconvinced. "Brin knows about the blue lady." Zane looked thoughtful, and then shook his head. 

"They'll trust that. For sure. They don't all know about Brin. It'll work." He nodded his head again. "It'll work."

"Ok," said Logan, hitting a final few keys on his computer. "It's complete. The access number has been changed. Secure line, all ready. Just tell me when." Zane was visibly excited, pacing back and forth across the room. 

"It works?" Zane asked, fiddling with the cell phone Logan had given him. 

"You dial the number, you dial the access code, it works. Did you record the message?" Logan asked. Zane nodded, and Logan raised his eyebrows, as if in question.

"I said that it was me, the SIC, and that the CO had been compromised. Then I said that any contact with Zack since the date that you last saw him should be considered suspicious. I said that I wanted to see them, to assess their situations. That's it. I didn't ask for details." He looked hopefully at Logan. "What do you think?" 

"Sounds good." Logan replied, and he saw Zane let out a breath, which surprised him. Having an X5 need his approval was a new experience. 

"And the broadcast is ready?" Logan nodded. 

"You just need to hit the button to transmit. You want to do it?" He asked, laughing at Zane's eager expression. 

Zane looked from the phone in his hand, to Logan, and finally to the computer. He grinned and pressed the button to begin the transmission. 

"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. This hack cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city. This is a message for those known as X5. It is a message from the blue lady. Check in with your CO. 

This message will repeat every hour, on the hour, until all of you have checked in. This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out."

Zane's grin spread wider as he saw the broadcast interrupt the program on Logan's television.

"It's done." He whispered. He grinned at Logan. "Thanks Logie," Zane exclaimed. "I owe you one!"

"You can start by not calling me Logie." Logan replied, before being interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Zane had jumped, thinking it was his cell phone, and had scrambled to answer it, becoming disappointed when he realised it was Logan's phone and not his own that was ringing. 

"Could you get that? If it's Asha, take a message." Logan asked Zane. "But be nice." Zane grinned, heading for the phone. 

"Yeah?" Zane picked up the phone, wanting to annoy Logan by not being nice. The colour drained from his face as he listened to the person on the other end. He stayed silent throughout the conversation, then replaced the phone softly. 

"Who was it?" Logan asked, not looking up from the screen of his computer. He froze when the cold blade of a knife was pressed against his neck. "Zane?" he whispered, trying not to move. The blade was pressed harder, cutting into him. 

Zane answered in a low growl that Logan barely recognised as belonging to him. 

"You wanna tell me why Donald Lydecker is calling you at home?" 


	4. The Enemy of my Enemy

Disclaimer: Dark Angel does not belong to me. It is a tool for my amusement!

A/N: Thanks to everyone that took the time to review my last chapter. I love reviews, and they make me want to write more to keep you happy! Looks like nobody wants the virus – thank goodness! I'm a total Max/Logan fan and will get there eventually. I'm trying to stay as faithful as I can to the second season, while bending it to accommodate Zane, and deleting the virus. I don't know how I'll go with that. On a different note, my uni semester is picking up, (I'm in the final six weeks of my degree,) so please forgive me if the chapters take their time coming. I'll try my hardest to update often! I'm a born procrastinator when it comes to my uni work, so your chances of new chapters are good!

Another A/N: Apologies for the delay in this chapter. I stalled for a while, then skipped ahead and wrote some of ch 5 & 6, before finding inspiration again. I apologise if this chapter suffers, I probably should have taken a little more time to get it right. I hope I haven't squashed it too much! 

Chapter Four: The Enemy of my Enemy 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

Logan sat frozen, the cool blade still pressed against his skin. 

"Zane…" he began. The blade pressed harder still, and Logan closed his eyes. "Zane, I don't know."

"How did he get your number?" Zane's low voice sent a shiver through Logan. 

"I don't know. Zane, I honestly don't know. What did he want?" Another shiver. 

"He wants you to meet him. Tell me what I want to know!" Zane demanded, his tone icy. Logan felt himself shivering more violently, and looked around for a weapon he could use. The shivering was dangerous; Zane's knife was bouncing against his throat, cutting into him. 

The knife moved away, and Logan exhaled, the shivering immediately stopping. He turned slowly to face Zane, realising as he took in the sight of the X5 on the ground that he hadn't been shivering at all. 

Zane was having a seizure. 

Logan stared at Zane, asleep on his couch. The shaking had almost completely stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief. The bottle of Tryptophan that Logan had kept in his medicine cabinet for Max was sitting on the coffee table. The knife that had been pressed against Logan's throat for the better part of half an hour was in Logan's hand. Logan looked from the knife back to Zane, briefly remembering that he'd once thought his life couldn't get any weirder. He struggled to remember exactly when he'd had that thought, thinking that it probably had something to do with Max. 

*** Manticore facility, DAY***

Max paced around her cell, fuming. Breeding partners? If it was possible, this place got more twisted by the minute. Her eyes fell on 494, sleeping on her cot. She frowned, then her gaze softened. He looked so much like Ben… 

Max fought the wave of emotions that threatened to surface at the thought of her brother, and the images that were flashing before her eyes; Ben as a child in Manticore, as an adult in the church, in her arms in the forest, talking about the good place… _Suck it up, soldier_. This was not Ben. This place was not Ben. Taking a shaky breath, she studied the sleeping 494, and as her eyes and mind drifted to the brick under her cot, she mentally cursed Manticore and X5-494 again. 

_Keep your head in the game_._ Mind on the mission_.Max forced herself to focus. Focus on the goal. Escape. Reclaiming her life. Her friends. Logan. 

*** Fogle towers, DAY***

Logan continued to watch Zane sleep, absently fiddling with the knife in his hands. It had been over two hours since the phone call, and almost as long since the seizure that had followed. He had been replaying the scene non-stop in his mind, and still had no idea how Lydecker had gotten his number, or what he wanted. 

"That belongs to me." The voice broke into Logan's thoughts, and he jumped, startled by the sound of Zane's voice. Zane was smiling, something Logan didn't know whether to be happy or scared about. 

"I think I'm going to hang on to it if you don't mind." Logan replied. He looked at Zane, who was looking at the bottle of Tryptophan on the table. Zane was pale and appeared sick, but Logan wasn't sure if it was an act, or if he was genuinely weakened by his seizure.

"Seizures always have the best timing." Zane observed dryly. Logan smiled slightly. 

"Not going to argue with you there." He said softly, rubbing the spot on his neck where the knife had been. He had yet to wipe away the dried blood, something that didn't go unnoticed by Zane. 

"I thought I'd be in a cage by now." Zane looked Logan up and down. The two men were cautiously watching each other, neither sure of what the other was thinking. 

"I don't know what he wanted." Logan repeated his earlier comment. Zane studied him for a minute, and then nodded. With great effort, he pulled himself to a sitting position. 

"He wanted a meeting. Said he had information about Manticore, and that he'd meet you in three hours." The X5 looked at his watch. "Actually, it's now an hour." He looked at Logan. "Thought you'd betrayed me." He said more quietly. 

"Not like I wouldn't have anything to lose by doing that." Logan pointed out, and Zane nodded. "I told you, Lydecker's sort of an ally. Manticore wants him dead." Zane's expression was deadly. 

"Wouldn't mind getting my hands on him myself." He snarled, voice low again. Logan studied him warily. 

"He helped Max and Zack take out the DNA lab…" Logan began by way of explanation, still not entirely assured of his safety around the X5.  

 "Zack and Max are gone because of that. He's a traitor. He betrayed Manticore, he'll betray you." Zane replied. Watching his face, Logan finally saw the family resemblance between Zane and Zack, and wondered where the happy, joking X5 had disappeared to. 

"What else did he say?" Logan asked quietly. He took a deep breath, still unsure of how Zane would react to questions about the phone call. 

"Oh, my favourite part of the conversation" Zane began. "Come alone." The X5 laughed out loud, shaking his head. "Doesn't sound like he wants to betray you, does it?" he studied Logan for a minute, thoughtfully. "You think he's genuine?" He asked, seriously. "You think we can trust him?" 

"We?" The word caught Logan by surprise.

"You and me. Do you think we can trust him?" Zane repeated. Loyalty to Logan for the broadcast was the deciding factor.

He'd trust Logan. If Logan were sure that Lydecker could be trusted, X5-205 would be there to back him up. He reminded 

himself that Manticore was Lydecker's enemy as well. _The enemy of my enemy is my friend_. 

"You were the one that talked to him. Or listened, anyway." Logan said, referring to Zane's silence while on the phone. 

"You're not going alone. You might want to think about taking your personal genetically engineered super soldier with you." Zane gave him a wide grin, and Logan smiled back. 

"You won't kill him?" Logan said, not quite teasing. From the look on Zane's face when Lydecker's name was mentioned, and his actions after the phone call, Logan was certain that Zane had it in him to kill Lydecker. 

"Not until he's told you what you want to know." Zane joked. He noticed Logan's serious expression. The X5 sighed, and shook his head. "I won't kill him. Promise." He said, drawing a cross over his heart with his finger, slightly sarcastic. _He's not the mission_. "But if he even looks like he's thinking about betraying you, all promises go out the window. I'll kill him before he even knows I'm there." The look in Zane's eyes was cold, all traces of joking and sarcasm gone from his face. A true shiver went down Logan's spine as he saw the soldier emerge from the happy, laughing X5 that had stood in front of him only hours before. Not for the first time, he mentally cursed Manticore for creating lives for the purpose of killing, without any real care for those lives.

"You got more than one gun?" Zane asked, eyebrows raised. Logan wondered briefly if Max was the only X5 against using guns. He shook his head in answer to Zane's question. The younger man pulled a gun out of his boot, Logan's eyebrows immediately shooting up. 

"You always carry a gun?" he asked, watching Zane check the gun's chamber.  

"I prefer knives." His grin was teasing, and meant to remind Logan of the knife that had been used on him. "Not such a great fan of guns, but they're an essential tool in battle. Even rich cyber journalists have them these days." Logan shot him a glare, but couldn't hold it. He broke into a smile at Zane's joke. 

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" He asked the X5 seriously. Zane thought for a minute. He took a deep breath and looked at Logan. 

"He's a means to fulfilling the objective." He answered, in a mock soldier's voice. Then, wiping the smile off his face, he spoke again. "This isn't about me. It's about Manticore getting what they deserve." Logan considered this, and then nodded. 

"Then we're ready." Zane nodded back, and the two of them left the penthouse together. 

"He said come alone, so I'll stay out of sight." Zane was explaining the plan to Logan as they drove. "But I'll be watching him. And the second he even-" 

"The second he even looks like betraying me, you'll get all G.I. Joe. I get it." Logan interrupted. They were driving the short distance to the rendezvous point, and Zane was starting to make Logan nervous. He was sitting in the back seat of the Aztek, checking and rechecking his gun. 

"Just making sure you know how it's going down." He looked up, studying the streets they were passing. "How much longer?" he asked, shifting his gaze to the road ahead. 

"Couple more minutes." Logan answered, and Zane felt an unexpected surge of excitement about the mission, which he immediately hated the soldier in him for having. Taking a deep breath, he focused his attention forward, watching the road, and counting down the 'couple more minutes' in his head. Then, remembering something Logan had said, Zane looked at him, frowning in confusion. 

"Oh, and Logan? What's a G.I. Joe?"

*** Warehouse, DAY ***

Logan drove the Aztek into the warehouse, and slowly got out, flexing his knees briefly to ensure the exoskeleton was functioning properly. He looked around, trying not to remember the last time he'd been in this place, planning to take out the DNA lab with Max and her siblings. 

He caught sight of Lydecker, watching him. Catching the older man's eye, Logan called out. 

"You said you had some information for me?" Lydecker nodded. 

"I did," he answered simply. 

"I'm trying to find Manticore" Logan continued, feeling uneasy. 

"Looks like Manticore found you" a third voice cut in. Logan's eyes darted toward a pillar, where the owner of the voice had just appeared. He swallowed, and silently willed Zane to make his move. 

Zane felt it before it happened. It was a trap. It was a huge trap, and they'd walked right into it. Cursing himself for neglecting his training, he opened the back door of the Aztek, and sprung out, gun in hand, keeping himself hidden behind the vehicle. _Assess the situation_. Two of Lydecker's men were approaching Logan from behind. A man wearing sunglasses had emerged from behind a pillar, and was standing next to Lydecker. 

"Sorry, son." Lydecker's voice, as it had on the phone, turned Zane's blood to ice. He took a deep breath and listened. He had to move. Now. 

"So this is the great and powerful Oz. Hold on here--let me get a good look." A different voice, the voice of the man with the sunglasses. Zane counted the guns he thought were in the room, planning his move. 

"I wouldn't do that, Jim." Zane moved slightly, frustrated by not being able to see what was happening. 

Sure of nothing but Lydecker's betrayal, he blurred out from behind the car, so he was behind Logan, ready to attack Lydecker's men. 

"Duck!" Lydecker shouted, and Zane, confused, turned to look at him. 

It was the last noise the X5 heard before he hit the ground. 


	5. Payback and Redemption

Disclaimer: I've applied for a loan so that I can buy Dark Angel. Until then, I don't own the tv show, the characters, etc. :p

I also don't own anything relating to the tv show 'Prisoner.' I've never even watched an episode of it, just heard about it and thought it had some relevance to the DA world. 

A/N: I do a back flip every time I get a new review! (Or I would, if I could do back flips. I have to make do with smiling a lot.) Thanks to everyone out there that's been really encouraging. I love you all! 

I make no apologies for cruel cliffhangers! Enjoy!

For anyone who's wondering, the tv show Zane's watching in this chapter was a real show, and you can find info about the show at http://www.the-prisoner-6.freeserve.co.uk/  

Chapter Five 

*** Warehouse, DAY ***

When Lydecker had yelled at Logan to duck, he had, leaving Zane to catch the bullet. Lydecker had shot the two men that had been advancing on Logan, and turned his attention to the man with the eye patch while Logan saw to Zane. The bullet had clipped him in his left arm, which was bleeding. Lydecker and McGinnis were shouting at each other, but Lydecker appeared to have the upper hand. 

The X5 opened his eyes and looked up at Logan. 

"Don't tell him who I am." He whispered, and then closed his eyes, unmoving. Logan took a deep breath, and then checked for a pulse. It was strong. Unsure of what Zane's plan was, he stood, turning to face Lydecker and the other man, who was now pleading with Lydecker for the hospital.  

"There's a small problem with that, Jim. You got a good look at my friend here." Lydecker said by way of response, gesturing at Logan. 

"No no no, I didn't. I hardly laid an eye on the guy. My depth perception's all shot. Besides, all you white boys, you know, you all look alike to me. Come on, Deck. We're old friends." Lydecker turned to face Logan, not looking at Zane, or the dead men in the warehouse. 

"What do you think?" he asked, shooting his 'old friend' when he reached for a gun. Logan, not quite believing what he was seeing, approached Lydecker, gun in hand. 

"We never really liked each other, did we?" he asked the dead man. He turned to Logan. "So what do you want to know about Manticore?" 

The two men didn't talk long, each figuring Manticore would be sending reinforcements when McGinnis didn't return. Logan was growing increasingly worried about Zane, still unmoving, but hadn't mentioned anything to Lydecker. He assumed that Lydecker thought Zane was one of McGinnis's men, since he had told him to come alone. As they were leaving, Lydecker walked past Zane, and noted the difference in the clothes between him and McGinnis's men. He looked from Zane's unmoving body to Logan, shrugged his shoulders, and offered by way of explanation;

"I told you to come alone." 

*** Fogle towers, NIGHT ***

"I wasn't playing dead, I was assessing the situation" Zane protested, for what seemed like the tenth time. Logan laughed in reply, and thanked Sam for stopping by. 

"He told you to duck." Logan teased as he waved to the doctor and shut the door. 

"Excuse me if I wasn't in a hurry to obey orders from Donald Lydecker." Zane replied sarcastically. "Besides, he told _you_ to duck. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He waved his injured arm to accentuate his point.

"The doctor said not to move that." Logan admonished with a smile. "And anyway, that doesn't account for you playing dead." Zane shot him a murderous glare. 

"I wasn't playing dead. One word from you and he would have met a bullet." He growled. Logan nodded sarcastically, with a teasing smile on his face. Zane shook his head, mumbling something Logan couldn't hear, but smiling in spite of himself. 

"Leave me alone, I'm healing." Zane joked, throwing a pillow at Logan. He squirmed on the couch, trying to get comfortable. "And throw that pillow back, I need it." Logan laughed, holding on to the pillow tightly. 

"What are you watching?" Logan shifted his gaze to the television, not recognising the program. 

"Something called 'Prisoner.' Warped out science fiction show where this village is a prison, and the people are known by numbers instead of names." He grinned, not looking away from the screen. "Hits kinda close to home." Logan followed Zane's gaze to the action on the screen. The show was pre-pulse, and before Logan's time. He guessed it was made sometime during the nineteen sixties. 

'I am not a number, I'm a free man!' The man on screen yelled in protest. 

"You tell 'em, buddy!" Zane yelled back. Logan groaned, and Zane looked at him in question.

"You're not one of those annoying people that insists on talking to the tv characters, clapping along…?" he asked Zane desperately. Zane shot him a devilish grin. 

"I wasn't, but after that whole 'playing dead' comment, I think I might just become one, Logie." He dissolved into laughter, and Logan threw the cushion back at him. 

"Hey, careful, still healing here!" Zane protested with a smile. Logan shook his head, smiled, and joined Zane on the couch, too exhausted to face the pressure of an Eyes Only broadcast tonight, especially one that meant so much to him. 

Manticore would go down tomorrow. 

*** Warehouse, NIGHT ***

"Looks like Lydecker double-crossed us." The man spoke into a cell phone, glad he wasn't standing in front of the woman on the other end of the phone call. 

"He knows our location. If Eyes Only broadcasts it, the Committee will bury us." She sounded more than annoyed, she sounded ready to kill. 

"Sir! Over here!" The man looked up, grateful for the distraction from the angry woman in his ear. He walked over to where one of the other Manticore men was crouched, studying the ground. He leaned over, forgetting the phone call. 

"What is it?" The voice in his ear made him jump, and he fumbled the phone, almost dropping it. 

"Uh, blood trail. Couldn't have been one of our people; none of them walked out of here." He could almost picture her face, curious and calculating - he shuddered at the thought. 

"Take a sample and run a full DNA assay. Get back here right away." He swallowed as the line went dead, dreading facing her. 

"Scrape it and get it to the lab. Now. Full DNA assay." He barked at the younger man, who was still crouched next to the blood trail.

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"So I was thinking…" Zane began. 

"Don't make a habit of it. You were designed as a soldier. Why don't you leave the thinking to those who've had more practice at it?" Logan quipped, and Zane pretended to take offence. After the 'knife incident' and subsequent mission, the two had been getting along extraordinarily well, each enjoying the company of the other. Well, Logan was enjoying the company. Zane was enjoying the company and the free food.  

"Logie, that hurts. Really." Zane stopped eating, pretended to wipe away a tear, and then remembered what he was going to say. "So anyway, been thinking, and I realised I owe you one now." Logan looked at him in surprise, eyebrows raised. 

"How do you figure that?" He replied, thinking about the gunshot and the help with the VA job.

"The broadcast. I'm going to find my brothers and sisters because of that broadcast. I owe you big." Logan scoffed in reply. 

"You don't think that the gunshot was enough?" he laughed. Zane shook his head. 

"Flesh wound." He grinned. Logan thought again. 

"Planning the VA job?" he asked. Again, Zane shook his head. 

"I was bored. Nothing better to do." Logan frowned into his pasta, thinking that, if anything, it was he who owed Zane. 

"So I was thinking," Zane repeated, watching Logan's expression. "Maybe I should move to Seattle. You know, make sure you don't stuff things up. Join the informant net, pay you back." He rushed the last part out as he saw Logan's face fall. 

"I don't know, Zane. I'm doing ok, getting help from the S1W, managing alright on my own. They came through on the VA job, I can broadcast the location." Zane frowned. 

"You could do with more help." He protested. Logan shook his head. 

"I'm fine. I have my sources, you don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you." Logan answered firmly. 

"None of them know who they're working for. You need a legman. A legs man." Zane said with a smile, glancing at Logan's still legs. "What's your problem with this? Thought you'd appreciate it. I want to help." Zane was confused. He had been thinking about moving to Seattle since the broadcast. He had nothing tying him to his current home; he hated his boss, his dog could be moved, and his apartment was disgusting. Here, he had a link to Max and Zack, and a friend he could work with. He'd checked out the city while he'd been on surveillance of Logan, and thought it could be home, if he could get used to all the rain. 

"I don't want you helping me. I appreciate the offer, but I don't need it. Thanks." Logan said flatly. Zane was even more confused, but trying not to take Logan's refusal personally. 

"Guess you really are 'I Only'." He joked, repeating Original Cindy's comment from earlier in the week. Logan glared at him. 

"I should have known you heard that." Logan groaned, thinking back to the conversation with Max's best friend. 

"She was right. You don't let other people help you. You shut yourself up in here, and try to change the world. But Logie, that's no way to live. I've been here a few days, and the only people that have called or stopped by have been your sources. You have no life outside of Eyes Only. Stop trying to carry everything, share the load, have some fun." Logan stared at him, feeling like he'd been slapped in the face. It was true. He tried to remember the last time he'd done anything for himself, anything not directly related to Eyes Only. He came up blank.  

"Even Superman had a day job. And friends. And _help._" Zane pointed out, and Logan cracked a small smile. 

"I don't remember that from my comic books. His friends just kept getting kidnapped, and he had to save the day. It always came down to him."

"Batman had Robin." Zane persisted, and Logan shook his head, smiling. 

"Robin wore tights." He teased, and Zane laughed out loud. 

"We can discuss the uniform later." He looked at Logan, in question, eyebrows raised. 

"You really want to do this, don't you?" Logan asked the X5, watching his face for doubt.

"Be your sidekick or wear tights?" The younger man joked, getting a laugh from Logan. He stopped laughing, and nodded in reply. Logan sighed, looking at the floor. He thought for a moment, then looked at Zane and extended his hand. 

"Welcome to the informant net, Robin." He smiled, and Zane pumped his hand enthusiastically. 

"Thanks Batman!" he paused. "By the way, I Only," The X5 smiled, remembering Logan's joke about him thinking, "I've already told you, _my_ IQ's off the charts. Maybe _you_ should lay off the thinking." Logan turned to answer with a smart comment, but was interrupted by the beeping of a phone. He looked at Zane. 

"It's not mine." Logan said with a smile. The X-5's eyes widened, and he scrambled from the kitchen to the sofa where he'd left his cell phone. 

"Someone's checked in!" He exclaimed, excitement written all over his face. He held the phone, dialling digits, and Logan watched curiously. Zane looked like a child at Christmas, and Logan was reminded again of Max when her siblings were mentioned. The younger man finished listening to the message, a broad grin spread across his face. Logan raised his eyebrows. 

"Kia. It was Kia. My little sister." Zane's smile was huge, and Logan wondered if Lydecker himself could have wiped it off the X5's face. 

"She told you where she is?" Logan asked, and Zane's smile flickered for a second, before spreading wider.

"Not exactly. But she gave me the city. I think. Actually, she was kind of cryptic. I don't know if she completely trusted the broadcast. But it's enough. I'll find her. I'm going to find my sister!" His smile was contagious, and Logan found himself grinning back. 

*** Manticore, DAY ***

"Oh, now this _is_ interesting!" Renfro exclaimed, drawing out every word. She looked from the folder she was holding to the man in front of her. 

"This is the blood you found at the warehouse?" She barked at him, looking back down at the folder. "Nobody tampered with it?" The man from the warehouse shook his head.

"No ma'am." He answered. She let out a small laugh, and he looked at her in alarm. 

Renfro hit a button on the computer in front of her, and an Eyes Only broadcast started playing. 

'…This is a message for those known as X5. It is a message from the blue lady. Check in with your CO…'

"Eyes Only has just become very useful. Get X5-452 down to psy-ops and wait for instructions. And bring me 494." She didn't take her eyes off the folder in front of her, just kept flicking the pages, nodding, and smiling to herself, while the broadcast repeated over and over.  

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"I've figured out where she is. I'm sure of the city. I can find her from there. I'll go in a couple of weeks, when all of this Manticore expose thing has blown over. I can pick up my dog on my way back. It'll give me time to find a place around here. Maybe a new job. Gotta have a day job, alibi so no one knows I work for Eyes Only." He grinned at Logan, the excitement still evident in his face. 

"I think it would be a good idea if you went tonight." Logan answered. "It's been a long time since you've seen her. Why not drop in?" Zane looked at him, eyebrows raised in question. Logan sighed, then looked at Zane, and prepared the real answer. "I don't think you should be here when this goes down." He explained, and after thinking for a moment, Zane nodded. 

"They'll probably come looking for the rogue X5 that tipped you off to the location. Or the details of Manticore, anyway." Logan nodded in agreement, though he doubted that Manticore would find him. Or even come looking. More likely, they'd do as Lydecker had once said, and shut down the entire operation. Whatever happened, Manticore would be exposed, and it was probably best for Zane to be as far away as possible until everything died down. 

"You'll be alright?" Zane asked. Logan nodded, considering the question with a small smile. What did Zane mean by 'alright?' Would he be safe? Probably. Would he be able to go through with the broadcast? Yes. Would he feel satisfaction in finally avenging Max? Yes. Would every fibre in his body still long for her? Absolutely. 

Zane left a few hours later with smiles and jokes, happy to be heading towards his sister. 

"I'll look into getting you a place to live." Logan said by way of goodbye. "And if I can't find anything by the time you get back, I'll set up the guestroom." Zane nodded, opening the door to Logan's apartment. 

"Might want to dog-proof the apartment." He smiled, and then laughed at the expression on Logan's face. 

"I'll look _really hard_ into getting you a place to live." Logan corrected. "Really really hard." Zane laughed again. "Good luck with Kia." Logan finished, extending a hand. Zane shook it with a smile. 

"See ya soon, Logie." He replied, heading toward the elevator. Logan's mumbled comment about X5s and their warped senses of humour didn't go unheard by Zane, who laughed as he stepped into the elevator. 

*** Manticore, NIGHT ***

Max blinked, groaning when she tried to move her head and felt the heaviness there. Trying desperately to remember what had happened, she looked around her cell, for the first time noticing 494 watching her. Alec. She'd called him Alec. Were they friends? He hadn't said anything about the bricks under her cot. Could he be trusted? Did he do this to her head?

"What happened?" Max asked him, the voice echoing through her head. She closed her eyes and groaned again. 

"That psy-ops is a killer. But I guess they finally got it out of you, huh?" Confused, Max looked at him. She couldn't read the expression on his face. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." He raised his eyebrows at her. 

"I heard they were sending an X5 to take out some reporter friend of yours. And your fellow traitor, of course." He offered by way of explanation. Max shook her head, immediately regretting it, and struggled into a sitting position. 

"I didn't tell them anything." She answered, wary of him.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, studying her. Max felt it before she remembered it. Being strapped down, the injection, tubes, then the doctors, leaning over her as they did when she was a child. And Renfro. The bitch that killed her sister. Max struggled to remember the words. 

"You're going to help me whether you want to or not." Hours in psy-ops, the torture, then back to psy-ops. How long had she been there? What had she told them? What about the fellow traitor? It had to be a trick. Maybe Syl or Krit, they weren't caught, they could be in danger, _what had she told them?_ How long before they got to Logan? She had to move. Now. 

"I gotta get out of here now." She said desperately, scrambling off the cot and clawing at the bricks. 

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. Your location has been revealed…" 

Logan watched his broadcast for the fourth time, nodding. He was happy with it. Though he sometimes broadcasted live, he didn't want to take chances with the Manticore broadcast. He wanted it to be perfect. Taking a deep breath, he hit the button to establish a connection. This was it. This was for Max. He sat back and stared at the screen expectantly.

The computer stalled, and Logan watched in frustration as a message appeared. 'Satellite link failed.' He grunted in annoyance, angry at the delay. His eyes narrowing, he moved back to the keyboard, and prepared to try again. Then he froze. Someone else was in the room. Thinking Zane had changed his mind or forgotten something, he turned around in his chair, ready with a smart comment. 

The comment died on his lips. His eyes widened when his eyes fell on the person in front of him. He opened his mouth and said the only word that would come.

"Max." 


	6. Kia

Disclaimer: I own Dark Angel, and am solely responsible for its ratings and subsequent cancellation. ;)

Actually, I am a poor suffering student. I own nothing. 

A/N: I apologise to all those out there that were looking forward to Logan and Max's meeting. I'm leaving you hanging until the next chapter. I am truly sorry. I've had Kia in my head for a while, and wanted you to meet her. I had fun writing this, and fun with Brianna's character, which pretty much came from nowhere. I've been putting off posting this chapter, as it's different from the last few, and I didn't know if anyone would like it. To make up for it, I've been stalling until I have more of chapter seven (Max and Logan's reunion) finished so that if you are disappointed, the wait for M/L shouldn't be too long- _should_ be up before Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

New CO chapter six – **Kia**

*** Sacramento, DAY ***

Zane gave a frustrated groan and shut the phone book. He'd spent two days in Sacramento, reading phonebooks and riding through the city on a stolen motorcycle, but still had no clue on how to find Kia.  He opened the local paper and settled back in his chair, thinking to himself that he didn't have the patience to be a commanding officer. He flicked through the pages quickly, wondering how long it would take him to get back to Seattle. 

A smile slowly spread over Zane's face as his eyes fell on the ad at the bottom of the page. He glanced at the address briefly, sat back in his chair, and grinned. 

Zane approached the building, forcing himself to walk at a regular pace. The newspaper ad was in his back pocket. He'd memorised the information in the ad almost instantly, but felt somewhat comforted by having it with him. He stopped in front of the address and looked up at the sign above the old and crumbling building entrance that read 'community centre' in faded letters. Taking a deep breath, Zane walked toward the entrance. 

In contrast to the outside, the inside of the building was well maintained, looking bright and inviting. The walls had been painted in the last six months, no lights needed replacing, and there were plants in the corners. A small sign was the only indication that the building had been converted into a martial arts school. The X5 looked around, taking in details. The community centre had once been bigger, with post-pulse renovations evident. The ceiling was lower, the centre now appearing to accommodate a second floor. 

Zane approached the desk, which doubled as a kiosk. There was nobody behind it. He picked the top sheet off a stack of yellow flyers and read it. On the sheet were the details of all of the classes that were held at the school, their times, rooms, and instructors. Zane grinned as he read Kia's name, and checked his watch. According to the schedule, his sister was teaching a women's self defence class in the blue room. He took a few steps away from the counter-kiosk and towards the rooms. 

There was no blue door. Zane walked down the wide, well-lit hallway, looking for evidence of a blue room. He could hear the sounds of several classes going on, muffled by the doors, at least two of them led by female instructors. He looked back at the flyer in his hand. It was ten to five, and, according to the schedule, there were four classes underway, two of them close to finishing. Zane listened carefully, then chose one of the rooms with a female instructor.  

He ran his hands over the door. The conversion, and subsequent renovation, of the centre to the small school had obviously included the doors. Zane smiled to himself, wondering why he had been looking for a blue door when this one was clearly the one he was looking for. The door was a work of art. It was a design that incorporated newspaper headlines and clippings, all having to do with women's rights and reports of attacks on women. A large painted symbol had been drawn over the top of all of the clippings, and lettering foreign to Zane was painted around and over the newspaper. If any of the doors led to a self-defence class, this one was the one. He slowly turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

The blue room was a fitting name for the martial arts class. Each wall was painted blue, with mirrors lining the wall adjacent to the wall with the door. There were posters with tips on self-defence around the room, and a blackboard mounted on the wall opposite the mirrors. The instructor was standing at the front, the class having finished, and was addressing her students. Zane frowned briefly. The flyer had said this was a women's self defence class, but instead the class was filled with children, both male and female. The wall at the back of the room was lined with parents, watching the class and waiting to take their children home. As the class broke up, and the children began heading to the back of the room to find their parents, Zane took a position against the wall, and turned his eyes to his sister, now talking to one of her students. 

Zane had waited his entire post-escape life for this moment. He was about to talk to one of his siblings, and watch the signs of recognition and realisation spread over Kia's face as she realised who he was. 

The instructor was still talking to the young student, so Zane briefly considered what the first thing he would say to his sister should be. The door to the blue room opened, and a man, who Zane assumed to be the student's father, stuck his head in and smiled. The girl grinned at him, and rushed off, yelling thanks to her instructor. Zane looked back to the front of the room. Kia, for the moment choosing to ignore him, was wiping the back of her neck with a towel. She took a drink of water, and Zane took the time to study her. 

His first thought was that she was perfect, and beautiful. Perfectly beautiful. Her hair, currently in a ponytail, was a deep red-brown colour, and her eyes a gorgeous shade of green, framed by long eyelashes. She was taller than he'd thought she would be, only slightly shorter than he, with long legs, and curves and muscles in all the right places. Zane stood, looking at her, and allowed his mind to wander. 

*** Flashback, Manticore ***

"Zane. Zane. I don't know." Max repeated his new name over and over. He started to get annoyed with her. She already had a name, after all. What was wrong with him having one? He liked it. He'd heard it on the – he searched for the exact word for the contraband – portable television one of the guards had. A lady had been talking about someone with a 'zany sense of humour.' Tinga, who had been standing next to him, straining to see the television, had repeated the word. 'Zane.' They'd argued, he'd thought that the woman on the contraband had said 'zany,' but Tinga insisted that it was 'zane.' For the next day, every time he had passed Tinga, he hissed out the word 'zany,' and she'd say, in as loud a voice as she dared, 'zane.' The others had picked up on it, one by one, and now each said 'zane' whenever they encountered him. When they'd started talking about names, it was the only one that he could think of. He was a soldier. He was a number. What did he know about names? When he'd suggested it, Tinga had laughed and immediately agreed. Now Max wasn't sure, and X5-205 knew that he wanted the name more than anything. 

"Zane, where is beta group?" Max asked suddenly, and Zane thought he'd burst with pride at having her use his name. She was one of the youngest, but all of the X5s in their unit craved her approval. 

"They- they're not back yet. Max." Zane remembered to use her name. She smiled briefly. "I'll get Zack." He continued, then left her watching the door to the barracks. Today, alpha group had finished their escape and evade exercise early, and were waiting for the other half of their unit to arrive. On his way out, Zane collided with an X5 male, who had yet to think of a name. The X5, X5-792, was from beta group. 

"792, what's the rush?" Zane asked in as commanding a voice as he could manage.  The soldier was shaking, and looked terrified. 

"Where- is- 599- Zack?" The boy gasped out, correcting himself mid-sentence when he remembered about their names. He was looking around frantically. 

"Zack is in a briefing with Colonel Lydecker." Zane answered. "I'm SIC. What's the problem?" X5-792, still shaking, breathed in deeply. 

"It's 426, she's- she's- K.I.A." he answered. Zane and Max exchanged a glance, then, without words, followed 792 back out of the door. They got half way across the yard when they encountered Zack, returning from his briefing, and 792 started sobbing out his story. 

"…and now, she's K.I.A." he finished. None of the X5s had noticed two more members of the beta group approach. 

"Who's KIA?" One interrupted, and the four X5s turned to look at her. It was X5-426.

"You are." 792 answered, looking like he'd seen a ghost. 

The joke of 426 being KIA quickly spread around the small unit, and 792, embarrassed by his mistake, vowed to slow down. The other 5s had found this funny, as he was the fastest of all of them, and was always in a hurry to do everything. Brin, in a fit of laughter at hearing his vow dubbed him 'Rush,' which stuck. As for 426, she'd been known as Kia from the second the words had first left Rush's mouth. It became a fitting name for the small but strong X5, as she was mistaken as K.I.A. twice more before they escaped from Manticore. They had joked that they should have called her Phoenix, as she kept 'rising again.'

*** Phoenix School of Martial Arts, DAY ***

"I said, can I help you?" The voice broke into Zane's thoughts, startling him. He blinked, and looked at the woman in front of him. Kia. He searched her face for signs of recognition, but didn't see any. In fact, Zane didn't recognise her either. She looked nothing like the young soldier he had known, and her voice sounded nothing like the young Kia, or the Kia that had checked in on the contact number. 

"Kia?" he asked with uncertainty. The woman in front of him shook her head and smiled. 

"We switched rooms today. Kia's working with the attack dummies in the dark room. I can take you there if you'd like." Zane suddenly found he couldn't speak, something extremely rare for him. He nodded instead.  

"My name's Brianna. I teach the children's self defence class." She smiled again, and Zane was desperately willing his voice to return. 

"Zane." He squeaked out, instantly wishing he'd remained silent. He coughed, clearing his throat. "It's nice to meet you, Brianna. I'm Zane." He smiled back at her, briefly wondering where the 'take-charge soldier' in him had disappeared to. Probably ran away when it saw that smile, he thought dryly. Brianna led Zane out of the blue room and down the hallway. "Kia's class won't end for another half an hour" Brianna explained. "You can wait if you like, but maybe I can help you?" she asked. Zane shook his head, not trusting his voice yet. 

"It's not urgent, is it?" Brianna asked, looking concerned. She looked Zane up and down, nervously. "She doesn't like her classes interrupted, but if it's urgent…" 

"No, no, it's not urgent." Zane withheld a sigh of relief that his voice hadn't squeaked. "It's personal, not business." A frown crossed Brianna's face briefly before she replaced it with a bright smile. Zane didn't notice. They had stopped in front of a red door, which Brianna opened with a key. 

"We can wait in here for the class to end." She smiled as they entered. "Would you shut the door? I don't like the sound of the shouts that come from next door." Had Zane been thinking clearly, he would have remembered that in the hallway, he couldn't hear shouts. He could hardly hear talking. Had he been watching Brianna carefully he would have noticed that her smile wasn't touching her eyes, which were filled with hate. 

"How long have you known Kia?" Zane asked, closing the door and turning around to face Brianna. The smile that had followed his question died on his lips as the brunette in front of him grabbed him in a headlock, applying pressure to a pressure point in his neck. Zane, knowing enough about this particular pressure point to stay completely still, was utterly confused by the movement. He knew that he had speed enough to overpower her before she could do any damage, but was curious to know what was going on.  

"Listen here, you piece of shit" Brianna began, in a low voice. She spat every word, leaving Zane to wonder what had happened to the friendly children's instructor he had met only minutes before. 

"This pathetic obsession you have for Kia ends here, you got it? No more three a.m. phone calls, or any more of the sick letters you keep sending. She doesn't like you. She doesn't want you. And she may not care enough about you to want to break your neck, but I can tell you, _I do_. Stay away from her. And stay away from here. If you even think-" Brianna's last words were cut off as Zane ducked out of the headlock quickly, and crossed the room before she realised he had moved. She looked at him in surprise, and with fear. 

"How did you…?" She stared at him, now standing across the room from her, watching her. She composed herself quickly, and stood in a fighting stance. "I'm a teacher at a martial arts school, buddy. I have a few talents of my own." Her words were thick with hatred, and Zane took a second to admire her fighting spirit, also admiring the way her eyes danced with anger as she watched him. 

"Look, Brianna…" he started. A low growl came from her throat. He looked at her in surprise, briefly wondering if she could be an X5. The growl had been pretty cat-like. He shook off the thought, and tried again.

"I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not a stalker, or an insane murderer, or whatever you were thinking. I just want to see Kia." Brianna hadn't blinked, and Zane entertained the possibility of her being X5 once more. 

"Why?" she snarled angrily, still staring at him. 

"It's complicated." Zane answered. He looked at his watch. Kia's class would be ending in just over ten minutes. He didn't like the idea of a fight with one of her employees before he talked to her, especially not when he was getting over a bullet wound. X5s may heal fast, but he still didn't want to risk re-injuring his arm. 

"Tell you what." He began. Her expression didn't change, but she appeared to be listening. "You can take me to her class, like you said you would. If I turn out to be a stalker, you can _both_ beat the shit out of me. What do you say?" Brianna considered it for a moment. 

"I'm going to start walking over to you now, so we can leave through the door and go to her room." Zane spoke slowly and clearly. Brianna nodded. 

"If you try anything, if you even _breathe_ wrong…" She hissed, and Zane resisted the urge to smile. It was good to know his sister had friends like this. He finished crossing the room, and let her take him in a headlock again. She applied pressure to the point on his neck, and he tried to recall all that he knew about acupressure, and how dangerous the point was. 

They reached a door painted black, and Brianna released the headlock and pushed him roughly forward. 

"Open the door." She said harshly. Zane's sensitive hearing heard the catch in her voice, briefly allowing the fear to show through her rough exterior. He opened the door. 

The dark room, as Brianna had called it, was actually a brightly lit room that was slightly smaller than the blue room.  The lights hung low, and there were several 'attack dummies' set up around the room. A poster reading 'know your weapons' was propped up against the wall, showing pictures of everyday items found in women's purses, and detailing how they could be used as weapons. Zane took in the details quickly, more concerned about getting a look at his sister than memorising the room. He grinned when he recognised her. The women had been sitting in a circle, debriefing the lesson, and were talking quietly. They had all looked up at the interruption to their class, and were now watching Brianna and Zane expectantly. The woman Zane recognised as Kia jumped up from her spot on the floor. 

"B? What's up?" She asked, eyebrows raised expectantly. Her eyes fell on Zane, and she frowned, as if trying to place him. She looked at the members of her group, struggling to remember whose husband or brother this could be. She stared at him for a moment longer, and then her face went through the expressions Zane had longed to see earlier. Recognition and realisation. The smile on his face grew wider, and he stepped forward toward his sister. What he hadn't been expecting was the wicked grin that spread across her face. 

"Ladies," She began, turning to face her group. "As a final treat for you today, I have a little something special. I'd like you to meet your real life attack dummy. Now, who would like to volunteer to be attacked?"


	7. Reunion

Disclaimer: These are not my characters. Although they have starring roles in my story, they are free to come and go as they please. :p

A/N: Ah, the moment all of you M/L shippers have been waiting for. Max and Logan's reunion! I had so much fun writing this chapter! Unfortunately, chapter eight is moving slowly, so it'll be a while before my next update. You'll have to make do with this one. Enjoy!

Chapter 7- **Reunion**

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

Logan stared, hardly daring to believe that she was in front of him. He looked at her, committing every inch of her to memory and desperately trying not to blink, fearing she would disappear the second he closed his eyes. With his eyes beginning to sting from holding them open, he blinked. She was still there. Logan stood, hearing the whir of the exoskeleton, and looked at her, his eyes full of questions, mouth unable to speak. 

"We've gotta get you out of here. They're coming to get you." Her eyes hadn't left his, and she read every emotion on his face, feeling her heart beating faster. He ignored her comment and crossed the room quickly, stopping only when his mouth found hers. He kissed her, the last three months forgotten. Instantly, she forgot her rescue mission, forgot the objective, and focused only on his kiss. Minutes seemed to pass, and she briefly wondered how he was managing to breathe. With reluctance, she pulled away, and stared deep into his eyes. 

"We gotta go. They're coming to get you," she persisted. He was holding her tight, not wanting to let her go. Max pulled back further and studied him, thinking that it would be easy to stay here, to be with him and let them come. She shook off the thought. There would be time. _We have all the time in the world_. The memory of his words taunted her, and she shuddered and broke away from him.  

"How did you…?" Logan started to ask, his eyes full of wonder, a smile on his face. 

"I'll explain later. Come on." Max took his arm, but Logan shook his head, shifting his gaze back to his computer. 

"No, I have to finish my broadcast." He protested. 

"Forget it. It's not important." Max answered, and Logan stared at her warily. It _was_ important, to her as well as to him. Doubt entered his mind. 

"Come on. They're coming." She repeated. She looked up at him with desperation in her eyes. 

"Who? How did you escape?" Logan's mind flashed back to Zack's story about Manticore's methods for obtaining information. He'd told them he'd seen Max, but that it wasn't her, just a trick to get the locations of the X5s… Was this real? He'd seen her die, held her, cried for her… _left her_. Caught between wanting to believe she was real, and the doubt in his mind, Logan found himself unable to move. 

"Logan, they're coming!" Her words snapped him out of his thoughts, but he still couldn't move. She looked at him desperately.

"They mentioned another X5." 

"They mean Zane." Logan replied slowly. 

"Zane? Zane's here?" Max asked, her eyes darting around the penthouse. "Anyone else? Do you know where anyone else is?" Her comment and demanding tone surprised both herself and Logan. He met her puzzled expression with a frown. She looked down, a strange expression on her face. 

"Why did I…?" She trailed off, thinking aloud. She frowned and looked up at Logan, shocked by the gun he was pointing at her. 

"Logan?" He didn't move. "Logan, what's…?" She began, taking advantage of his hesitation at the whimper in her tone and grabbing the gun. She tossed it through the doorway and stared at him. 

He glared back at her, no longer sure of anything. He'd been sure this wasn't real, that she was a fake sent by Manticore to stop the broadcast and find Zane. Some kind of torture to get information, like Zack had described. _Then why hadn't she used the gun? _Surely an impostor wouldn't have kept up appearances once he'd pointed the gun at her. Max hated guns because of Eva, a psychological, not physical, reason- not a part of her DNA- it couldn't be cloned… Logan forced himself to focus. 

"Who are you?" He asked her, frantically trying to form a plan. "What do you want?" 

"You've gotta get Zane and the others safe." She said, ignoring his questions. "Tell me how to find him, and I'll take care of it."

"I'm not telling you anything. And I'm not leaving." He edged closer to the computer. 

"Logan, it's _me_. Max. You can trust me," she pleaded, watching him carefully. He was watching her with the same expression. 

"They did something to you Max." He whispered, and she frowned. 

_That psy-ops is a killer._

_I didn't tell them anything._

_I heard they were sending an X5 to take out some reporter friend of yours. And your fellow traitor, of course._

_I have to finish my broadcast._

_Forget it. It's not important._

_Zane? Zane's here? Anyone else? Do you know where anyone else is?_

_Tell me how to find him, and I'll take care of it._

She shook her head, trying to shake off the snatches of conversation running through her head. 

"How did they know about the other X5?" Logan persisted, and she shook her head again. 

"Logan, they know who you are! They're coming to get you. They got it out of me. Where's Zane? We've got to go." Her voice was again desperate, her eyes pleading. 

"Zane's safe." He answered simply. 

She glared at him, a visible change coming over her face. She crossed the room in one swift motion, pinning him with an arm, and holding a knife to his throat. Logan closed his eyes, remembering the scene with Zane only days earlier.

"Where is he?" she growled

"They did something to you Max." Logan repeated, staying still. 

_That psy-ops is a killer._

"They sent you to kill me."

_I heard they were sending an X5 to take out some reporter friend of yours_

"To stop me."

_I have to finish my broadcast_

_Forget it. It's not important_

"And to find Zane. To get to the others."

_And your fellow traitor, of course _

"You've been brainwashed." He continued, hoping her silence was a good sign. 

_That psy-ops is a killer._

The knife fell to the floor, cluttering on the ground, and Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He briefly wondered how many more X5s would hold him at knifepoint before the week was through. Taking a deep breath, he tuned to look at Max. Her eyes were on the knife on the floor. Logan kicked it away, but her eyes stayed glued to the spot where it had been. 

"Max, look at me." She didn't move. He stepped closer to her, placing a finger under her chin and gently tilting her head up. She allowed him to, but avoided his eyes. 

"Max." He repeated. He cupped her face in his hands, and tilted it to his, but she still wouldn't look at him. His heart jumped when he saw the tears in her eyes. 

"Max." It was a whisper. She slowly looked up at him, the first of the tears spilling over. "Max, it wasn't you." She shook her head in disagreement.

"Sure looked like it from my angle." She whispered angrily. 

"It was Manticore." He reasoned, and again she shook her head. 

"I was going to kill you." He shook his head, but she nodded furiously. 

"I was going to do it Logan!" She exclaimed, horrified at herself. "I was going to do it, and I _wanted_ to."

"It wasn't you, Max. It was Manticore. Manticore made you want to."  He wiped a tear away from her face. 

"It seemed so right. The right thing to do." She whispered to herself. "I'm a monster!" She cried, breaking away from him. She turned her back to him.

"You're not a monster Max." 

"Then why do I still want to kill you?" She asked softly, though loud enough for him to hear. She tensed when she felt his hands on her shoulders. He turned her around, pulling her close. 

"You're not a monster Max." He repeated. "You're stronger than they are." She looked up at him, finally smiling through her tears. He smiled back. 

"And you're beautiful. You've come back to me." He continued, but instead of making her smile widen, Logan's words brought a frown to Max's face. 

"She tried to make me kill you. And compromise my brothers and sisters. She killed Tinga." Max spat, her face hardening. "I'll kill her." Logan stared at her, shocked by the certainty in her voice. 

"Max, you don't want to kill her." He reasoned, not certain of who the 'her' Max was referring to was, but having a fair idea.

"That's where you're wrong."

"We have the broadcast, we can bring them down properly…" She shook her head.

"No can do. She said if the broadcast hits, she'd burn the place to the ground."

"Isn't that what you want?" Logan asked, confused. 

"She said she'd burn the place to the ground with everyone locked inside." Max explained. Logan's eyes widened. 

"Oh." 

Max looked up at him. Her eyes held the determined look that he was beginning to think was a characteristic of all X5s.

"She'll never leave me alone."

"Neither will I." He said with a smile, embracing her tightly. "I won't let them take you away from me again." She smiled back, leaning in for another kiss. 

"Now this _is_ a touching moment." X5-494's voice came from the doorway of the penthouse.

"How nasty of me to ruin it. If Manticore had made me with a conscience, I might actually regret taking you out." He finished, raising a gun and pointing it at Logan. Max spun Logan around so she was in front of him, blocking Alec's shot. Logan struggled behind her. 

"What are you doing, Max?" he hissed. "He'll kill you!" 

"Don't move." She replied through gritted teeth. She locked her gaze on Alec, her eyes daring him to make a move. 

He hesitated when 452 stepped in front of the target. The director had made it very clear that she was not to be injured. 

"Very noble, 452. _Max_." He taunted. 

"Shut up Alec." She retorted.  

"You hurt me, Max. You really do. I thought we were friends. I even helped you escape." His sarcastic tone wasn't helping Max's mood. She continued to glare at him.  

"You followed me." She accused. He grinned, and shook his head, the gun not moving. 

"Actually, no. I followed the signal that your tracking device emitted. See, funny thing, I didn't believe you'd actually kill your boyfriend here. And that'd leave Manticore one X5 short, one journalist too many, and with a host of traitor X5s that they were no closer to finding. So they interrupt my leisure time, can you believe that? They interrupt _my_ free time, just so I could come chasing after you. Looks like we're going to be breeding partners after all. That is, if you ever get out of psy-ops again."  

"I'm not going back there." 

"Actually, you're wrong about that." He answered cockily. 

Max was backing into Logan, moving him toward the computer. With him still crouched slightly so as not to give Alec a target, moving was difficult. She kept her eyes on 494.  

"See, actually I'm not." She insisted.  "I kinda like it out here. Got a few things worth sticking around for. So tell Manticore that as tempting as their invitation back to their five star resort is, I'm not really up for any more vacations from my life right now." Alec raised his eyebrows and dropped his grin.  

"I'm authorised to use force, 452."  

"You trying to scare me Alec? If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it by now. So the way I figure it, you can leave now, or you can explain yourself to the blonde with the gun that's standing behind you." His expression hadn't change, but Max knew he'd heard the girl with the gun. 

Alec had felt her approach, but had been unwilling to turn his back on Max. Now the thought of the gun had him wondering, and he spun, his catlike reflexes and speed snatching the gun out of Asha's hands before she had the chance to react. Taking the opportunity of his distraction, Max blurred and pushed Logan into the study, slamming the door. Alec spun back at the noise and Max leapt forward, sweeping his legs out from under him with a kick, managing to disarm him of one gun. He jumped quickly to a crouch, but hesitated. Max wondered again why Alec hadn't shot through her to eliminate his target. She dared a quick glance over her shoulder to check that Logan was still safe, immediately regretting it when she turned back to face Alec. 

"Nice spin, huh?" He asked her, pointing his gun at Asha's head. Max raised her own at him in answer, hoping that he didn't know enough about her to know that she wouldn't use it. 

"Think your boy'll trade himself for this one?" He grinned at the question, and Max glared. The blonde woman struggled, making Alec hold her tighter. Max was glad she was giving him a hard time. 

"What makes you think I won't shoot you?" He whispered to Asha in a low voice, which Max heard with her enhanced hearing. She continued to struggle. Alec hit her over the head with the end of his gun, and she slumped over the arm he was holding her with. 

"Hey, superhero boy!" Alec shouted in the direction of the study. "Got someone here you may have forgotten! You know, tall, blonde, unconscious…? Thought you might wanna play noble and exchange yourself for her. Prove yourself worthy of our Maxie's affections?" At this comment, Max lunged forward and jumped on him, inflicting blows to his face. He defended what he could, mentally cursing the director's instructions to return her unharmed. 

"Logan, the broadcast!" Max yelled. "Send it! Do it!" Alec decided that following orders may not always be the best thing to do, and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over briefly, but it was enough time for 494 to push past her and head towards the study. 

Max jumped to a standing position and followed Alec to the study, just in time to hear a gunshot. Her eyes darted around the penthouse for a weapon, and her eyes fell on the gun that she'd kicked out of Logan's hands not too much earlier. His only gun, which he kept in his study. Max abandoned her short quest for a weapon and raced to source of the gunshot, preparing herself for the worst. 

She pushed open the door to Logan's study, feeling sick to her stomach as she felt the door resist against her hand. There was a body blocking the door. 

And Logan was standing over it with a gun. 

_Assess the situation. What the…?_

"Logan?" Max asked with uncertainty. She bent over Alec's body and flipped him so he was lying on his back. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his chest rising and falling, though not really knowing why she was so relieved to see him alive. 

"He's alive?" Logan's voice was shaky, and he was staring at the gun in his hand. 

"Yep. Don't know why he's out though. It's a clean shot, you didn't hit anything on the way through…" She continued to look the body over. "Though he might have gotten lucky and hit the door handle when he fell." She continued, pointing out the lump on his forehead. She turned and looked at Logan, still holding the gun in his hand. 

"Since when do you keep more than one gun?" 

"Zane left one here. Said Eyes Only should be prepared." Max nodded, making a mental note to owe Zane her first-born child.  

"He'll be awake soon. We gotta tie him up." She looked at Asha. "And we should make sure she's ok." Max allowed herself a brief moment of jealousy when she thought about who the blonde might be. 

"Leave them to me. You have something bigger to worry about." 

"Manticore." 

"They may be loyal to Manticore, but they don't deserve to die." Max nodded in agreement.  

"I'll be back." She spun around to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back for a kiss.  

"You'd better be." He whispered. She smiled, then ran back out through the door.    

*** Manticore, NIGHT ***

"We've got a security breach."  A technician said, staring at the surveillance monitors.  "Someone's unlocking the cell doors." He dared a glance at the director, who looked furious.  

"Well, override the system. Lock down those doors." The technician swallowed, preparing for her reaction to what he had to say.  

"Can't. Control conduits must be burned out." She was silent. He kept his eyes on the monitors. 

"They're in the yard, heading for the fence."  

"Well, stop them. No one gets past the perimeters." She spun and noticed two men leaving the room. One of them saw her, and stood at attention. 

"Bring me 452--alive." 

Max ran through the hall, making her way toward where she thought the director would be. 

_It means that I lock down the cells and I burn this place to the ground with you and everyone else inside._

She smiled at the thought of having beaten the director's plan to murder her extended family. 

_I could start over anywhere. I just put all the data that we have accumulated into my briefcase…_

"Not on my watch." Max whispered to herself, slowing at the sound of voices. 

"Ma'am, we need to evacuate." A man's voice called, his face hidden from Max's position outside the door.  

"Where's 452?" She heard Renfro's voice and shifted, trying to get a better view of the room.

"Now, ma'am." The same man urged her again. 

"I'm not leaving without her." The director insisted. Max abandoned her position and walked through the door.  

"What a coincidence, 'cause I'm not leaving without you." She smiled sarcastically, staring at the blonde woman. 

"452." She whispered, sounding relieved.  

"Yeah. You might remember me, you killed my sister, tried to make me kill my friend and betray my family?" Max moved towards the director, who was looking at her as if she was seeing her messiah.  

"Your family doesn't matter. Only you matter." Max rolled her eyes. 

"You know, I've had about enough of this Manticore crap as I can handle. Tell me where Zack is."  

"You're what we've been looking for." Renfro continued, ignoring Max's question. 

"Wrong answer! What about Brin?" They each took a step toward each other, Max taking a fighting stance. She stared at the director, whose eyes had gone wide at something she saw over Max's shoulder. 

"No!" She screamed, throwing herself in front of the X5. Max spun at the sound of the bullet, and saw the guard in the doorway. He looked terrified as he took in the scene- the director on the floor, the gun in his hand. Max looked at him. 

"I won't tell if you don't." She shrugged, and the guard nodded and hurried away. Max turned back to the woman on the floor. 

"Where's Zack? And Brin?" She tried again, leaning over the director. 

"They don't matter. Only you matter." She repeated weakly. Max gave her a confused look. 

"You just ate a bullet for me.  Why?" The X5 demanded. 

"You… you are the one we've been looking for. Sandeman…" Renfro spluttered.  

_Father… Sandman _

Max remembered Joshua's words and frowned. The director's eyes widened and she slumped to the floor. Max stared at her, shaking her head. 

"Oh, fantastic. More unanswered questions. Gotta love my life." She dropped the body and looked around, her eyes settling on a silver briefcase on the control panel.

_I could start over anywhere. I just put all the data that we have accumulated into my briefcase…_

"Wouldn't want that happening." Max thought aloud, grabbing the briefcase and taking one last look at the director. 

"I guess I am stronger." She whispered.

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

Max watched him from the doorway, curiously. Logan had removed the exoskeleton, and now sat in his wheelchair, moving awkwardly. She was sure that if it were possible to pace in a wheelchair, he'd be pacing. She moved closer, and he looked up, catching sight of her. They stared at each other, neither daring to speak.  

"It's gone." She said finally, breaking the silence. He looked up at her, reading the hundreds of emotions that were swimming in her dark eyes.  

"You've won." He replied, unable to hide the relief he felt at seeing her safe. She shrugged her shoulders. 

"One thing I've learned from dealing with Manticore is when you chop off one head, another one's pretty quick to spring up in its place. It's still dangerous." She was the same cynical and sarcastic Max he knew. And loved. Logan smiled at the thought. 

"There's more of you now." 

"We've gotta stick together."  

"Speaking of together…" he started. Her head snapped up quickly at the suggestive tone he was using. She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to finish. 

"Speaking of together…" She repeated, encouragingly.  

"You want me to call Zane? You really need each other right now. You know, brothers and sisters, sticking together." He finished, unable to suppress the grin at his own teasing – they both knew that when he'd started the sentence Zane had been far from his mind. His eyes glinted mischievously as he studied her.

"We've got something here I'd like to finish before we call my brother." She answered, and Logan grinned more widely, then wickedly, recalling his comment from months before. 

"Are you sure? Remember, we have all the time in the world," he joked, meeting her eyes and loving the look he saw in them. 

"Yeah, but that kind of bombed on me last time. If you don't mind, I'd like to get started before the world ends again." She smiled back at him, taking his hand and raising her eyebrows in question. Logan pretended to ponder this, forcing a serious look onto his face. He slowly nodded, smiling again. 

"I don't see a problem with that."


	8. Defence Mechanisms

**Disclaimer:** The world of Dark Angel does not belong to me. All characters that do not appear in the TV show do, so please leave Kia, Brianna, Rush and Jai to live out their happy little lives in my fic unless you ask first. 

**A/N:** The payoff for this chapter taking so long is that it's mammoth- absolutely huge! It's taken ages to write, but I wanted all of the Sacramento stuff to happen in this chapter. Please forgive me for inaccurate fighting terms. I really have no idea when it comes to fighting!

**Timeframe: **Somewhere between 'Designate This' and 'Bag 'Em'

**Reviews:** Welcome, encouraged, necessary!

**The story so far: **Zane tracked down Logan after the events of AJBAC, and broadcasted to the '09 escapees. Zane left when Kia (X5-426) checked in on the contact number and is currently at the mercy of a self-defence class in Sacramento, while a newly returned Max is getting 'reacquainted' with Logan in Seattle. (I thought I'd better include this summary because it's been so long since my last update. Enjoy!)

****

**Chapter 8**

**Defence Mechanisms**

*** Phoenix School of Martial Arts, DAY ***

"Ladies," Kia began, turning to face her self-defence group. "As a final treat for you today, I have a little something special. I'd like you to meet your real life attack dummy. Now, who would like to volunteer to be attacked?"

Zane blinked, not quite sure he'd heard right. Attack dummy?

The group of women in the room talked nervously among themselves at the thought of taking on a man rather than a dummy. 

"Come on ladies, I'm offering you a free shot at him! Do your worst." Kia looked around at her class, and Brianna grinned evilly, enjoying the terrified look on Zane's face. 

"Don't I get a say in this?" He asked with a strangled voice.

"No." Kia and Brianna answered at the same time, sharing an amused glance. Kia looked around at her class again and sighed. 

"Are we sure nobody wants to take him on? It seems a wasted opportunity…" She said, disappointed. None of the students spoke. Zane breathed a sigh of relief. 

"I'll take him on." Brianna grinned. Kia looked at her, eyebrows raised. 

"We have a volunteer." Kia smiled and the ladies in the class clapped their hands. "Brianna has just finished teaching the children's class, now she's volunteered to take on Zane, who happens to have great skills in defence. Now, she's going to need all your help. Remember what I've taught you, ladies, and we'll see how well Brianna applies it." She grinned at the look on Zane's face. He caught her eye and gave her a nasty expression. 

"And just for the record," Kia continued. "My money's on Brianna." 

Unable to believe what was happening, Zane stood staring at his sister. 

"Ok. Zane, I want you to come up behind Brianna and attack her." Kia began, and Zane shifted his eyes to her in a glare. She returned his expression, eyebrows raised. Shaking his head in disbelief, Zane walked slowly up to Brianna and assumed a position that he thought an attacker might take. He moved closer to his 'victim,' reaching out to grab her in a headlock as she had done to him earlier. 

Without warning, Brianna grabbed Zane's arm and swung herself around to face him, at the same time as applying her knee to a very delicate area. Zane's eyes bulged, and he doubled over in pain. 

"Brianna has hit back at one of the three most vulnerable areas of a man. Can anyone name the others?" Kia asked her class with a smile. Zane recovered and started toward Brianna again. She ducked out of his reach and forced a blow to his throat. 

"Throat!" One of Kia's students called out, and Kia nodded approvingly. 

"Right. The groin and throat are two. And the other?" Zane spun quickly out of Brianna's path and stared at Kia in disbelief. 

"Eyes." A different student cut in, just as Brianna launched herself at Zane, who ducked her blow. Deciding that Brianna was capable of defending herself, Zane swept her feet out from under her with a kick. The ladies in the class let out cries and exclamations of outrage, and began yelling encouragement at Brianna. Zane looked around nervously. 

"Remember that fighting back is our best form of defence." Kia was saying as Brianna got to her feet. "Most attackers are looking for easy targets. They're unlikely to stay around for a fight." Zane looked at Brianna warily, not wanting to strike the woman, but forced to protect himself. She circled him, eyes shining. 

"Zane, I want you to attack her again. Don't worry about hurting her, she's able to defend herself." Zane turned to look at his sister, shooting her another glare. She gave him a bright smile. He sighed heavily and turned to face his 'victim' again. Brianna was waiting, and landed a punch square on his face. He staggered back momentarily, and then caught her hand with his own as she tried to hit him again. He drew her in, pinning her arms to her, and holding her away from him in an awkward embrace. She struggled, trying to free her arms, and kicking her legs at him. Zane was happy he'd faced her away from him, the memory of her knee fresh in his memory. 

"Brianna's struggling, she's not going to let him off easily. Now, Zane appears to have the upper hand, but can anyone suggest a way for Brianna to escape?" Kia continued. Zane was holding Brianna tight, trying desperately not to notice how good her hair smelled, and how soft her skin was. The women in the class looked at each other, unable to answer their teacher's question. 

"She could try a head butt." Kia suggested, and Brianna snapped her head back before Zane had a chance to defend himself. Her skull collided with his eyebrow ridge, and he groaned in pain. The X5 felt blood begin to run down his face, but ignored the pain and kept his tight grip on the enemy. 

"Hmm, that didn't work. Maybe she should try again." Kia smiled, and this time Zane reacted before Brianna did. He pushed he across the room with all of the strength he could manage, and she stumbled, falling to the floor. The women in Kia's class gasped again, and a few started booing. Zane rolled his eyes and made his way over to Kia, assuming the fight was over. He touched his face lightly, pulling his hand away and staring at the blood on it. He looked up at Kia, who was looking back at him. 

"Thanks for being such a good sport, Zane." Kia smiled, and the class clapped obediently. 

"But what makes you think the fight's over?" He turned quickly, but not quickly enough, and Brianna landed a blow to his jaw. Zane swayed backward, but stayed on his feet and avoided Brianna's second blow. 

"Zane has broken two big rules of attack and defence," Kia began. "Don't underestimate your enemy, and never turn your back on them." The 'rules' were straight out of Manticore, and Zane turned to give Kia a quick dirty look, immediately regretting it as Brianna struck him again. 

"That'll have to do for today, ladies. I'm afraid we're terribly over time. Can we give Zane and Brianna a big thank you?" The class broke into applause again, several members congratulating Brianna on their way out the door. Brianna laughed off their praise and gave Zane a glance over her shoulder. 

"It was nothing." She smiled. 

*** Kia's apartment, NIGHT ***

"Just hold this over that bruise." Kia said gently, holding the icepack to Zane's forehead. He groaned. Brianna looked up from the mail she was flicking through and gave him a bright smile. Kia laughed and turned back to her brother. 

"How is it you two come to know each other?" Brianna asked innocently. Zane studied her. She appeared bored, now skimming a letter she'd just opened, but the X5 could tell she was giving them her full attention. He flinched as Kia applied pressure to his bruised face, and tried desperately to recall the lie he'd concocted for this situation. 

"Zane and I know each other from when we were kids." Kia explained before Zane had the chance to. "We both had fathers in the army, and we grew up on the same army bases." She had moved on to applying cream to a cut above Zane's eyebrow and didn't look up as she answered her friend.

"When the pulse hit, they broke up the base we were living on and reassigned the soldiers. I haven't seen him since." Zane was impressed by the explanation. He nodded, wincing as he bumped Kia's hand back into the ugly bruise on his forehead. 

"Closest thing to a sister I've got," he added, again looking at Brianna, who seemed to almost accept the explanation. 

"She's never mentioned you." She said accusingly, the letter forgotten in her hand. Zane was immediately drawn out of the comfort Kia's story had given him. He looked at Kia, who had dropped her head, and was looking at the floor. He raised his eyebrows, immediately regretting it when he felt the cut re-open. 

"Happier times." Kia started. "Reminiscing about happy times always makes remembering the bad times harder to handle," she finished cryptically. Brianna was watching her, concerned. Kia looked at her friend and gave her a shaky smile. 

"My dad was killed in the line of duty right after the pulse. My mother died trying to protect me from these men that were..." She looked down again, and Zane was incredibly impressed with his sister's acting skills. 

"When I think about life on bases, it always leads back to watching my mother die. I don't like to think about it." Brianna had crossed the room and was hugging her friend tightly. Kia gave Zane a look over Brianna's shoulder, a look that told him she didn't like lying. He pointed at his face to tell her that he was far worse off. 

Brianna and Kia broke apart, Brianna still looking concerned for her friend.

"Maybe I should stay here tonight." She said softly, looking at her friend's sad face. 

"I want to talk to Zane. I haven't seen him in a while." Brianna nodded, looking at Zane briefly before turning back to Kia. 

"You know where to find me."

"Right across the hall." Kia smiled, hugging her again. "Good night B." 

"'Night." Brianna answered. She looked over at Zane, smiling at her handiwork.  

"'Night Zane." She added in a sweetly sarcastic voice, making no attempt at apology. 

"Fantastic to meet you, Brianna." He answered in the same tone. "Nice left hook," he added as an afterthought, rubbing his jaw. She smiled, eyes sparkling, and left the apartment. 

"You," Zane grinned at his sister, turning to face her, "owe me big." He swept her into a hug, lifting her off the floor. She squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around him. 

"I can't believe you're really here!" She exclaimed, gripping him tightly. "I've got my brother back!" Zane spun her around and set her down near the brightly coloured sofa. She fell backwards into it, and he joined her, his injuries forgotten. 

"And I can't believe that you fed me to a pack of wolves." He answered, his grin betraying his angry tone.

"Just one angry wolf. Count yourself lucky that was a beginner class. Two more weeks and those pups would've eaten you alive."

Zane touched his face and winced. "You're lucky to have her as a friend."

"Don't have to tell me that." She looked down at her lap, folding and unfolding her hands nervously, the smile gone from her face.

"Give it to me straight, Zane." She blurted out suddenly, keeping her eyes down.

"Give what to you straight?" 

"How long before you make me leave all of this?" She waved her hand over the apartment, and Zane took in the place as well as her question. Brightly decorated walls, mismatched but comfortable looking furniture, photos of friends, all of it a reflection of Kia and her life. He looked at her questioningly. 

"That's what you're here for, right? To make me leave? Zack was going to relocate me just before he left. Said I've been here too long, that he'd been careless." 

"How long have you lived here?"

"Almost three years"

*** Flashback, Two years before ***

"But I like California." Zane protested, defending his decision to his brother. 

"You've never been to California." Zack responded roughly. 

"Yeah, but I think I'd like it." Zane joked. 

"This is not funny, Zane. I need to relocate you. You're moving to Canada."

"I don't want to move to Canada. I've been to Canada. You moved me out of Canada last year." Zane whined. "I was talking to a guy the other day said Sacramento's a real nice place, even after the pulse. You know, Sacramento, California. Sounds kind of pretty, huh? Sac-ra-men-to. I could live in Sacramento."

"You don't get a say in this." Zack's voice was harsh.

"You always give me a say in this." Zane replied, confusion in his voice. 

"You are not moving to California. That's it. This is not a discussion we are having." 

"Yes it is" Zane grinned "Right now. That's what it is, this backwards and forwards dialogue that's happening here. It's called a discussion." Zack's face was stony, and he glared at Zane.

"You're moving to Canada. Now. That's an order soldier. End of discussion." 

*** Flashback, Six months later ***

"What are you doing here? This move is unauthorised." The force and anger in Zack's voice immediately put Zane on the defensive. 

"You found me, what's the problem?" He replied with a shrug. 

"If I found you, they can." Zack tore through the apartment, looking for something. 

"You finding me had something to do with the fact that I checked in and told you I'd moved to LA." Zane called into the bedroom at his brother. 

"You need to move." Zack replied, rejoining Zane, apparently satisfied that he had not found what he was looking for.

"I just got here." Zane protested.

"Zane, do you see this?" Zack pulled up his shirt to show his brother a taped up cut. 

"Nice. Cut yourself shaving?" Zane quipped. 

"I got this fighting a Manticore soldier in Sacramento, on my way here. California is crawling with Lydecker's men. It's not safe."

"What were you doing in Sacramento?" X5-205 asked with a confused frown. 

"I thought that's where you'd be." Zack didn't give excuses. He rarely explained his actions. Zane wondered again what was going on. 

"I told you where I was." Zane insisted, sure he'd caught his CO in a lie. 

"We are not having this discussion. You need to move." 

*** Kia's apartment, NIGHT ***

"Zane? You just spaced out there." Zane was frowning, having just realised that Zack would never have let Kia stay if Lydecker's men were anywhere near Sacramento. He'd lied to Zane to keep him away from Kia. He turned back to his sister, remembering the conversation. 

"You own this place?" He asked, shaking off the memories. 

"Yeah." She was growing irritated at his refusal to answer her question. 

"Kia, I'm going to give you this 'straight.'" Zane began, and Kia took a deep breath. 

"I've always done what Zack said. He moved me around thirty-seven times. Thirty-seven. And every time, I got a new job, a new place to live, then just as I was getting comfortable, I'd move again. I've never spent more than one season in any city." Kia watched him, her face expressionless as she waited for the 'straight' answer he'd told her was coming. 

"I've never had a really good friend, Kia. I've never had a real home, or a boss I liked, or a city that I was comfortable in." She looked away from him, recalling Zack's constant rants of 'phoney sentimentality' and dreading what Zane was about to tell her. 

"Tinga had a husband and kid. Max had a favourite hangout and great friends. You've got this place, people that care about you, and a job you love. I'd kill for the same things, Kia. I'm not going to take them away." She'd jerked her head back in surprise at the mention of Tinga's family, and now her mouth was hanging open. 

"Just be careful. If anything happens, you'll have to leave." He finished, as she threw her arms around him again. Zane felt the pain in his shoulder from the gunshot resurface, and the fresh wounds from the days events scream in protest, but he didn't care. 

"Tinga has a kid?" She repeated, excited. Her face fell at his expression. 

"Tinga…" he began, not wanting to finish. He shifted his eyes to the ceiling. 

"Oh." Kia whispered sadly. "Max?" Zane shook his head. She frowned, shaking her own head as she tried to comprehend what he was having trouble saying. 

"Syl? Krit? Ben? Brin?" She fired out, waiting for answers. "Rush? Jondy?" She finished, wanting to shake him for his silence. Zane closed his eyes and turned his head away. 

"Brin was recaptured by Manticore. She had progeria. It causes spontaneous aging and would have killed her. They reindoctrinated her." He said, his voice so soft Kia had to strain to hear it. 

"Ben…" Zane looked at his sister, the tears in his eyes mirroring hers. She nodded encouragingly. 

"Jondy checked in when I was on my way here." He said suddenly, leaving her wondering what had happened to Ben. "She's safe." He smiled at her. She couldn't smile back. 

"Krit and Syl are fine, 's'far as I know. They haven't checked in yet, but they survived the mission that took Max and Zack." At the last part of the sentence, Kia cocked her head to the side curiously. 

"Mission?"

"They took out the DNA lab." He explained briefly. Kia nodded, impressed. 

"Nice. Explosives?" 

"Some of Syl's finest work." Zane replied with a smile. He looked at his sister, who was still looking at him expectantly. 

"I haven't heard from Rush yet. But the broadcast should still be repeating, so it should be ok. Probably out jogging." He joked, but Kia didn't smile. 

"Ben's dead." Zane said simply. Kia's eyes widened, and she frowned at the simple explanation. 

"How did he-" Kia began, before being cut off by her brother.

"Ben's dead, Kia. That's it. I don't know anything else about it. I don't know how, so don't ask." Kia nodded slowly, unconvinced, but unwilling to press the matter. She'd often been jealous of the close relationship Ben and Zane had shared back at Manticore, and was sure that Zane's reluctance to talk had something to do with that. 

"I know something about someone else though." Zane said teasingly, his mood suddenly lifting. 

"Who?" Kia demanded instantly. 

"Why didn't you ask about Jai?" Zane quickly changed the subject, pretending not to hear his sister. 

"Is that who the information is about?" Kia asked. 

"No." Zane grinned. 

"Who then?"

"Don't you care about Jai?" He teased, indulging a feeling he had that his sister was hiding something.

"Of course I do. Now what's the other news?"

"Why do I get the impression you know all about Jai?" He continued with a smile.

"Why do I suddenly understand why you have no friends?" Kia shot back.

"Tell me about Jai." Zane demanded, good-naturedly. 

"Tell me first." Kia exclaimed, frustrated. 

"Now now, X5-426. Hold up there a minute. Are you withholding information from your commanding officer?" He asked, leaning over her. 

"Because we have ways of making you talk." He leaned in closer, and her eyes widened. 

"No Zane, not that. Please" she pleaded. 

"Jai."

"Never."

"Now."

"No- ow- ah!" Kia squealed as Zane began his attack, tickling his younger sister so that she fell off the couch. She hit the floor with a thump, breathlessly begging for mercy. 

"Jai" Zane repeated, not ceasing his attack.

"I- I-" Kia began. "Know-" she gasped out. Zane withdrew his fingers. 

"You know…?" he repeated. Kia looked at him angrily, and in defeat. 

"I know where he is." 

"Jace is out." He replied simply, watching Kia's eyes widen. He paused for effect. 

"And she has a baby."

They talked long into the night, about their childhood, their post-Manticore life, and their siblings. 

"What about the stalker?" Zane blurted out suddenly. 

"Stalker?" She repeated in surprise. 

"Brianna mentioned a stalker. Thought I was him. Three am phone calls, sick letters?"

"Oh, _that_ stalker." Kia grinned.  "I beat the shit out of him almost a year ago. He left me alone."

"Then why does Brianna think…?" 

"I used the stalker story to explain Zack. Reason for the phone calls and running off for long stretches of time." She explained. 

"Running off?" Zane winced again when he raised his eyebrows. 

"Zack tried to convince me to leave here a million times. Sometimes he almost had me." She grinned at him. "But I'm my own person. The soldier is part of me; I'm not part of the soldier. I've got things here that are worth sticking around for." Zane nodded, looking around the apartment. 

"A martial arts school. Guess you fancy yourself a fighting champion?" He teased. 

"I don't do too badly." Kia replied with a smile. 

"Care to relinquish your title?" He grinned, standing up.

"Or die trying." She replied eagerly, heading for the door.

"I wouldn't go that far." Zane laughed, following his sister down the stairs. Kia scoffed at his hesitation. 

"That's why I'm gonna win." 

X5-426 snapped on the downstairs lights, and Zane recognised the blue room. His mind briefly flashed back to the first time he'd seen Brianna, and a light smile danced upon his lips. Zane blinked when Kia waved a hand back and forth in front of his face. 

"Ready for this soldier?" She teased, and Zane nodded. Kia's eyes were flashing, and she began to circle her prey. Zane met her eyes with his own and matched her motions, so that the pair were circling the room, neither taking their eyes off the other. 

He anticipated her first move, the tension building until she launched into a spin kick. Zane caught it easily, grabbing her leg and throwing her to the floor. 

"You're gonna have to do better than-" Zane began, before being swept off his feet by Kia's sweeping kick. She grinned at him, trapping his legs with her own.

"Going to have to do better than what, dear brother?" She teased, before withdrawing her legs and flipping back to a standing position. Zane followed her lead and flipped himself back up. 

"Forgot I wasn't fighting a mere mortal," he said by way of explanation. 

"There's a difference? I saw your performance this afternoon. You get your ass kicked by mere mortals too!" She grinned at him and deflected a punch, landing one of her own in his ribcage. 

"I was holding back for the audience. Plus, she's not a mere mortal. She's amazing. Uh, she's an amazing fighter." He covered quickly, but Kia caught the slip-up. She grinned mischievously as she exchanged punches with her brother. 

"I heard that. No denying it." Kia landed a kick square in Zane's stomach and grinned. 

"Heard what?" He replied breathlessly, every muscle already screaming in protest at yet another fight. 

"That you're hung up on the mere mortal that kicked your ass." She teased. He ignored her. 

"Enough with the pleasantries." He grinned at her. "You're going down, Phoenix."

Zane gave the fight all he had, which, after the events of the past few days, wasn't much. Though he could have easily taken down a civilian, he was no match for an X5 soldier. He stumbled through the fight, deflecting the blows that he could, but catching too many- his movements became more sluggish, and the fight slowed down. 

Zane realised with disgust that Kia was holding back. He pushed himself harder, fighting back with a strength she wasn't expecting. 

"Still got some fight left in you? Do your worst, big brother." Kia teased, though with a slight change in her voice that suggested she was ready for any challenge that he could throw at her. 

Zane moved quickly, running in a blurred circle around his sister so that he was behind her. Kia spun to face him, and caught the first of his punches on her jaw. She reeled backward, then dodged her brother's next move, a kick aimed at her stomach.  

"Is that all you've got? Come on, you're the _CO_. You must be able to do better than _that_." Kia teased, blocking another kick. "Really, Zane. I'm getting bored. Can't you give up? There's no shame in losing to a girl." She grinned at him, taking pleasure in the pained expression on his face. 

"Who said anything about losing?" He asked stubbornly, returning her grin. 

"You may want to let your ego know that I've just kicked your ass." Kia sighed, delivering her foot to Zane's chest and sending him to the floor. 

"Get off. That's an order." Zane gasped out. 

Kia had her knee on her brother's chest, pinning him down. She laughed, and reached out a hand to help him up. He took it and pulled her to the ground with a smile. 

"Suppose I had to let you get something back," Kia reasoned from the floor. "You know, you're not the fighter you once were. You've gone soft, Zane."

"I'm injured." He protested by way of explanation. Kia laughed. 

"Couple of bruises got you down?" 

"Don't forget the gunshot." Zane threw in, getting the desired shocked look from his sister. 

"Gunshot? You were shot?" He proudly lifted his sleeve to show her the gunshot wound, which was covered in a dressing.

"Two days ago." 

"By who?" She demanded. 

"Lydecker." Her eyes went wide. 

"But you said - you said - the mission… that he's a good guy." She asked, confused.

"I said he's on our side. He's still an asshole." Kia thought about it for a moment and nodded. She grinned teasingly, and slapped his injured arm. He winced, flopping back to the floor with a groan. 

"Gunshot. You're revealing your weaknesses, soldier." Kia teased. Zane gave her a pained expression. 

"The battle is over, 426."

"Did I win?" She asked eagerly.

"Do you really have to ask?" He replied, gesturing to the darkening bruise on his arm, and re-opened cuts on his face. His lip was busted, and one eye was closed more than the other. 

"I look like I've been in a fight with a truck." She grinned at him, rolling on to one elbow to face him. 

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment. Consider it payback."

"For what?" It was Zane's turn to look confused. 

"It'll come back to you." She answered cryptically, flipping into a standing position and heading for the door. 

The pair staggered up the stairs, Zane happy to notice that Kia was limping and that he had, in fact, done _some_ damage. She reached the door to her apartment and pushed it open, retreating to her bedroom. Zane stared after her, waiting. She returned after a moment with mismatched but clean bedding and threw it on the sofa. 

"Fold out. Night." Kia called over her shoulder as she headed back into the bedroom. "Sweet dreams… of mere mortals!" She exclaimed and slammed the door to her room. 

*** Flashback, Manticore ***

"No, no, no!" Kia mumbled into her military-issue pillow. Zane continued to shake her and took her by the feet, threatening to drag her.

"Kia, get up." He barked. 

"Ten more minutes." She pleaded, burying her head. It was the third time in a week that X5-426 had refused to leave her bunk in the morning. Zack had refused to deal with the 'unsoldierly behaviour' and had delegated the responsibility of Kia to Zane. Owing to that, Zane had run an extra seventy laps of the training ground alongside Kia as punishment for tardiness. 

"Kia, get up!" Zane repeated, and took hold of her legs by the ankles. 

"Noooo." She protested. The doctors hadn't found anything wrong with Kia that made her sleep any longer than the others. Tinga had joked that Kia had more feline DNA in her genetic makeup, which made her lazier, just like a cat. She'd heard a doctor make the joke first, and repeated it. The others had laughed, though none of them had ever seen a cat, and didn't know if they were lazy or not. 

"That's an order, soldier!" X5-205 tried, but his sister did not budge. He pulled on her ankles, dragging her off the bed. She groaned as her head hit the floor and stared up at him. 

"I'm going to hurt you for that. Just wait."

*** Kia's apartment, NIGHT ***

Zane fell into the fold out sofa, exhausted from Kia's 'payback'. He'd remembered the incident from their childhood at the same time as he remembered his sister's love of sleep. She'd once claimed to be jealous of Max and Jondy for needing little sleep, but Zane could tell that she loved sleeping more than anything else back at Manticore. 

The X5 stretched out, waiting for sleep to find him. Zane didn't have an excess of shark DNA, and needed sleep on a regular basis. He also had injuries that needed to heal, and sleep was the best way for that to happen. He grinned at the door to his sister's bedroom. 

"I guess it's my turn to pay you back, little sister." He whispered into the night, rubbing at the bruise over his eye. 

*** Kia's apartment, DAY ***

Zane woke to the sound of footsteps in the apartment, and was immediately poised to attack. He kept his eyes closed, listening to the noises and assessing the situation. He smelled female in the air, one that was familiar. Thinking it too early for Kia to be awake, he opened one eye. 

Brianna was in Kia's kitchen, opening cupboards randomly, not seeming to care how much noise she was making. She jerked the refrigerator open then slammed it closed. Zane pulled himself up onto his elbows and watched the brunette tear the kitchen apart. 

"What are you looking for?" The X5 asked, causing Brianna to jump. She turned her gaze to him, remembering he was there. 

"Uh, strapping tape." She answered quickly, taking in the sight of him lying on the bed with his hair messy and without a shirt.  

"You don't think the bathroom would have been a better place to start?" He replied, bringing her attention back to his face. 

"Oh yeah."  She darted a look towards Kia's room. The door was still firmly closed. The tall brunette sighed. 

"Actually, I was trying to wake her up." She explained, looking guilty. 

"Did you consider going into her bedroom?" Zane asked, amused at Brianna's discomfort. 

"No. She keeps a knife next to her bed, and she's _not_ a morning person. If I do it this way, she wakes up and doesn't blame me for it. She writes it off as coincidence. I've done it a million times." Brianna continued, gesturing at the kitchen as she spoke. 

"Ok, but what do you _want_?" Zane asked, intrigued by Kia's friend. 

"Company." Brianna answered, looking him up and down. "I don't suppose you jog?" 

*** Sacramento, DAY ***

The pair jogged in comfortable silence, having exhausted polite conversation. They had been jogging for almost an hour, issuing silent challenges to each other by setting a faster pace or sprinting for short periods. At one point, the pair had fallen into a bizarre game of 'follow the leader', Brianna leading Zane through an obstacle course of houses, backyards and, finally, a rundown fire station. 

Brianna stopped in a park, stretching her arms over her head. Zane followed suit, stretching out his muscles while watching Brianna. She was staring at something not too far away. Zane followed her gaze and stared down an alleyway at a man feeding animals. He looked back at Brianna, whose eyes were still fixed on the man as she continued to stretch.     

"See that guy?" She asked suddenly, holding one arm across her body and locking it tight with the other. She nodded toward the man in the alley. Zane nodded. 

"He's one of the toughest lawyers in the city. He's known for defending rapists, murderers, basic scum. But every morning he comes out into this alley and feeds stray animals. Strange, huh? I did some checking, and found out that he's the highest contributor to three different charities. All under a different name." She paused, still watching him. "I guess there's beauty in everyone." Zane looked at her face, which was flushed from the run. Brianna was staring down the alley, lost in her own thoughts, and the X5 couldn't take his eyes off her. He leaned forward slowly and kissed her. Brianna's eyes widened, and she jerked away, kneeing Zane in the groin with all the force she could manage. He groaned and leaned over, tilting his face up to her in question. Brianna was staring at him in silent fury. Ignoring the pain, Zane straightened up, preparing his apology. 

"Brianna-" He began, before being cut off by a stinging slap to his face. He raised his hand to his cheek and rubbed at it furiously.

"Ok, I deserved-" He started, stopping to catch Brianna's hand, which was attempting a second slap. She stared at him angrily, jerking her wrist to make him release it. 

"I'm sorry. It's just that you're so beautiful, and the look on your face when you were telling that story, I just-" 

"There's no excuse for that. You don't attack a woman, even with a kiss. You ask permission. You insult me with your attempts at excuses or flattery, if that's what you call what you just said." She interrupted angrily. Zane looked at the ground, nodding slowly. He raised his head to apologise again and was surprised by her sudden closeness, and even more by her sudden kiss. 

The pair broke apart a few minutes later, Zane incredibly confused over what had happened and unable to keep the smile from his face. They jogged back to the martial arts school in silence, the X5 not daring to speak, instead replaying their kiss over and over in his mind. 

*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***

Still confused, Zane followed Brianna into the school, pulling the door closed behind him. They arrived at the top of the stairs and she pushed the door to her apartment open, ignoring him. He watched her as she walked through it and slammed it closed, still without saying a word to him. He shook his head in disbelief, staring at the closed door. Shrugging, he turned to Kia's door, spinning quickly when he heard Brianna's door re-open. She crossed the hall in one step and met his mouth with her own. Startled, Zane returned the kiss, drawing Brianna closer, still not knowing quite what to think. 

Zane closed the door to Kia's apartment softly, the kisses still very much on his mind. He slowly walked toward the sofa, still folded out into his bed, and began converting it back into its couch form. 

"Brianna talk you into her morning jog?" Kia asked from her bedroom doorway, startling him. 

"You're up early." Zane jumped in surprise, snapping out of his daze and taking in the sight of his sister, awake and fully dressed before noon. 

"Don't remind me." She groaned, patting her ponytail and adjusting the collar of her polo shirt. 

"Busy?" 

"I have a morning class. You want to play attack dummy again?" Kia grinned at Zane's murderous expression and studied his injuries. The X5's eye was back to normal and the bruise on his face had dulled to a yellow colour. He shook his head in answer to her question and Kia nodded. 

"I have a television in case you get bored." She said proudly, walking over to the ancient set and switching it on. The picture didn't appear, and Kia frowned at the screen before thumping the top of the TV set with her fist. The picture appeared and she grinned. 

"It doesn't have a remote. Kind of pre-dates that convenience. You have to switch the channels by hand. Not that there are too many to choose from." She settled on a light comedy show, and looked at the clock in the kitchen. 

"I'd better head downstairs for that class. Are you sure you don't want to-" Kia was cut short by Zane's sudden leap forward. He pushed her out of the way and knelt down in front of the television. She looked at him, startled, then turned to the screen. 

_…casualties are unknown as yet. The fire was reportedly started by the terrorist group S1W, who are said to have had some grievance toward the veterans' hospital. Authorities are currently investigating a link between the fire and an earlier incident involving the S1W and a local VA office… _

"Zane?" Kia was standing behind him, trying to get his attention. "Zane? What's the matter?" His face was white, eyes wide as the news update ended. 

"VA hospital. Days ago." He stammered, and Kia kneeled in front of him. 

"Zane?" She repeated. He turned his eyes to her, snapping out of his daze quickly. 

"The VA hospital," he said slowly, "was a front for Manticore. They've burned it down." 

"It's gone?" She whispered, staring back at the screen. The comedy show was back on the screen. 

"Where's my phone?" Zane sprang up from the chair and looked around the room wildly. He spotted the cell phone and attacked it, punching in the access code and holding it to his ear. He listened carefully, ignoring Kia's questioning look. 

Not hearing what he wanted, Zane ended the phone call and put the phone in his pocket. 

"I have to go." He said quickly, moving around the apartment and gathering his things. Kia's eyes widened in alarm.

"What's the matter? Who is it?" Zane stopped and looked at his sister, who was barely containing the emotion in her voice. He crossed the room and stood in front of her, giving her a tight smile. 

"Not an X5. Syl checked in, but that's not what this is about. The VA hospital, the fire, the S1W. It all leads back to a friend. He's probably dead because of us. I have to go back." He abandoned his search for his belongings and headed for the door. 

"Now." Zane finished, looking over his shoulder. 

"You think it's really gone?" Kia blurted out suddenly. 

"Sounds too good to be true." Zane answered, giving his sister a quick hug. 

"What if it's still there?" She asked softly as Brianna came into the hallway where the two X5s were standing. 

"Then I'll know our enemy." He replied, just as softly. He turned to leave and acknowledged Brianna with a quick glance.  

"Kia, you'll be late for your class." Brianna warned, looking from Kia to Zane. 

"And if it's gone?" Kia asked, ignoring her friend. 

"Then I'm going to dance on the ashes." He said simply. 

"Zane…" Kia looked at him worried. 

"I know where to find you Kia. I'll see you soon. Bye Brianna." Brianna nodded at him, and he smiled briefly before heading back to the stairs. 

*** Flashback, Zane's apartment, DAY  ***

"Zack, as always your timing is impeccable." Zane noted dryly from his position on the sofa. His neighbour was sitting beside him, the two of them having been drinking beer and watching the replay of a football game. 

"You have to leave." Zack's order was directed at the neighbour, who looked confused. He looked from Zack to Zane, shrugged his shoulders, and left with his beer. Zack watched him leave as if telekinetically forcing him out, and then turned back to his brother. 

"So do you. It's time to move out. They're close." Zane rolled his eyes. 

"They're always close. Could you let the paranoia go for five minutes? This is a really good game." Zack's expression grew colder. 

"We're leaving." 

"No Zack, this time I think I'll stay. I like this place; it has less grime than some of your other choices for my home. Work pays well, and if you give me half a chance, I may actually make some friends." X5-205 stood up and faced his brother. 

"You don't need friends."

"I want friends. I'd like to talk to someone whose vocabulary extends past 'you have to leave' and 'that's an order.'" 

"You're a danger to every person you speak to." Zack retorted, not blinking. "You'll get them killed. They'll get _you_ killed. You don't need phoney sentimentality to survive." Zane shook his head in disgust.  

"We're moving out." Zack barked. "That's an order."

*** Sacramento, DAY ***

Zane continued down the road, headed toward Seattle on the stolen motorcycle. He sped up at the memory of the news broadcast. Manticore had burned down their facility rather than be exposed. What would they do to the person that had exposed them?

_You're a danger to every person you speak to. _

_You'll get them killed._

He thought of stopping and checking the contact number again, but ruled it out as a waste of time. The 'hospital' had burned down almost three days earlier, giving Logan plenty of time to have checked in already. 

_You'll get them killed.   _

Zane's thoughts darted briefly back to his sister and Brianna at the martial arts school, but he pushed them away and focussed on the mission at hand. The X5 hit full speed and continued riding toward his friend, the words of his brother repeating over and over in his mind while he tried desperately to convince himself that Logan was safe. __

_You'll get them killed. _


	9. Freak on a Leash

**Disclaimer:** Donations for the 'Dleep is buying the rights to Dark Angel fund' can be made to dleep81@yahoo.com . When I reach my money target, I will buy the series. Until then, it's not mine. 

**A/N:** I briefly toyed with the idea of forgetting season 2, but as much as I'm disliking it, it's still part of the DA universe, so I'm going to hang in there and use as much of it as I can. I've pretty much got my story line worked out, but please email me if you have any suggestions or comments. Thanks for the reviews, they keep me writing! I'm sorry for the long spaces between updates. I'm at the mercy of my temperamental computer. Until I can afford to get it fixed, (donations to the above address!) this will have to do.

A world of thanks to my fabulous new beta, Aimee. Without you, my writing would be an adverb-less wasteland!

Thanks must also go to Kyre for her fantastic transcripts. Thank you! 

**Timeframe:** This chapter occurs somewhere during 'Bag 'Em,' but I've fiddled with the episode's timeline. 

**Reviews:** As usual, welcome, encouraged, necessary!

**When we last left our hero:** Zane had just seen a newscast informing him of the Manticore situation. He said a quick goodbye to Kia and Brianna, and was heading toward Seattle, very worried about Logan. 

**Chapter Nine: Leashes**

*** Seattle, DAY ***

Zane sped into the carpark of Fogle Towers, noting the presence of Logan's car but not knowing if that bode good or bad news for his ally. He abandoned the stolen motorcycle and pressed the call button for the elevator repeatedly in a futile attempt to speed up its arrival. 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY *** 

"I can't. I have work to do." Logan said with a laugh, strapping on the exoskeleton. 

"I suppose I have a few things to do myself." Max sighed, looking up at him from the bed. He was pulling a shirt over his head, and she watched with a small smile. 

"How do you expect me to get any work done when you keep looking at me like that?" Logan asked with a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat up and grinned back at him, unable to resist the look he was giving her, and responding to it with one of her own. 

"Breakfast?" he mumbled into her neck. 

"It's a little late for breakfast." She whispered back. "But can I see the lunch time menu?" He grinned at her and somewhat reluctantly left the room, heading for the kitchen. 

"Hurry. Girl could starve to death!" Max called through the open door. 

Logan stared into the open refrigerator, humming softly to himself while planning a meal in his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a crash, and he turned in time to see the door fly off its hinges and fall inwards. It was followed quickly by Zane, who swept into the apartment, walking swiftly from one side of it to the other, ending up in the kitchen. 

"Fantastic!" Zane exclaimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've just ridden all night, worried to no end, and I get back and I find you with some girl?" His tone was familiar to Logan, it was the same one he'd used when he was angry about Lydecker's phone call. 

"Zane, you don't-" Logan began. 

"Don't! Don't say anything Logan! You don't know how pissed off I am right now."

"Zane-"

"No! Three days ago, you were moping over Max, going on about how much you loved her, damn, I actually felt sorry for you! But then I'm gone five minutes and you fall into bed with the first slut you meet, dishonouring her memory and your own word!" He looked in disgust in the direction of the bedroom. 

"Zane, that's not-" Logan protested, images of knives swimming in front of his eyes. He fervently hoped Zane had forgotten his knife in his hurry. 

"Yes it is! I had to hear about the fire on TV. On TV! You know how worried that made me? That you couldn't even check in to say that you were alive? I almost killed myself trying to get back here to make sure you were ok." He paused, and looked at Logan briefly before spinning around. 

"Don't ask me why I bothered. I won't again." He spat out, and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door on the way. 

Logan walked slowly back into the bedroom, finding Max convulsing with laughter. 

"You know, I could have used your help in there." He muttered to Max, unable to see the humour in the situation. 

"I couldn't find my clothes!" Max protested "Plus, you need to get yelled at every once in a while." She grinned at him, and he lunged forward and pulled her into a tight bear hug. 

"He had a point." She continued. 

"Whose side are you on?" Logan asked in surprise.

"Well, maybe not about me being a slut, but you should have called him."

"I was busy." He gave her a wicked grin before moving her hair aside and kissing her barcode. 

"Now that excuse works for me, but maybe not for my brother." Logan sighed. 

"I'd better go find him." Logan dialled the contact number and left a message. He didn't mention Max, but said there was a good reason for not calling, and that it was important Zane return as soon as he could. 

Zane was back within five minutes of the phone call, which made Logan think the X5 hadn't gone far. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Logan's 'explanation' wordlessly. 

"Zane, I'm sorry I didn't call." Logan began, and Zane shifted slightly, still not speaking. 

"There was the fire, then there was…" Zane began walking back out of the door. 

"Zane, I really am sorry." He stammered, annoyed by his inability to explain the situation. Max emerged from the bedroom, fully clothed, and stood beside Logan. 

"He promises to make it up to you by cooking us all lunch." She smiled. Zane turned at the sound of her voice, and his eyes went wide. 

"Max?!?" Her smile widened as she nodded, and Zane bundled her into a hug, twirling her around. 

"Max, you're alive!" He put her back on the ground, and looked from her to Logan, nodding and smiling. 

"Apology almost accepted." he smiled at Logan. 

"It's fantastic to see you." Zane grinned at his sister. "I probably could have done without seeing quite so _much_ of you, but it's good to see you." Her eyes widened when she realised what he meant, and then fixed on the open bedroom door. Her mouth dropped open.

"I'll get started on lunch, shall I?" Logan broke in, his voice somewhere between a laugh and embarrassment.

"That'd be great." Zane replied, linking arms with Max and starting toward the kitchen. 

"Oh, and Logie?" The X5 heard the older man's teeth set at the name. Logan turned, frowning at Max, who was giggling at his nickname. 

"Yeah?" 

"I'll replace your car tyres. I promise."  

*** Rendezvous point, DAY ***

"X6-314 reporting for duty, sir." The X6 stated, saluting. He had lead his group across the bridge toward the armed soldiers, relieved at the familiar sight of uniforms. 

"At ease, soldier."  The leader of the older soldiers said, turning and nodding at one of his men. He stepped out of the way, not looking back at the group of X series soldiers as his own group of soldiers opened fire. 

"Sir?" One of the men approached the leader, looking at him uncertainly. 

"Sweep the site. Nothing can tie this place to Manticore. Move." The soldier backed up, barking orders into a small radio. 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"You got beat up by a girl?" Max exclaimed sarcastically at Zane's story. She rolled her eyes and closed the refrigerator. 

"Poor baby." She continued, grinning at her brother. "Think your ego will ever recover?" He glared at her briefly, unable to suppress a laugh. The two X5s had been talking non-stop since Zane had arrived back at the apartment, leaving Logan to catch up on his work. Zane had just finished telling Max about his run-ins with both Kia and Brianna. 

"I can't believe you made friends with a nomaly." Zane said in disbelief, pulling on a jacket. 

"I wish I knew what happened to him. I don't know if he got out." Max pulled on her own jacket, looking troubled.

"Logan!" She called, in an attempt to change the subject. She stalked over to his study and stuck her head around the door. He turned and grinned at her, and she returned his smile. 

"Miss me?" He asked in a teasing voice. She crossed the rest of the distance to the chair and lowered herself into his lap. 

"Always." She giggled. 

"I just talked to Sebastian." 

"What has he found out from the briefcase?"

"Not too much. He's working on it." He noticed her jacket. "Going somewhere?" He asked. 

"'Bout time I see Original Cindy. She's going to start thinking she dreamed that phone call that told her I was back in the land of the living and breathing."

"I have something for her." Logan pulled a bottle of wine from underneath his desk. "Payback for the help." He partially explained, and Max looked at him, puzzled. He hadn't mentioned his visit from Original Cindy yet, but was sure Max would hear all about it from her friend. He grinned at the thought of her face receiving the wine. Logan was sure she'd appreciate the joke.

"What about work?" He asked, enjoying the scrunched up face she made when he mentioned Jam Pony.

"What _about_ work?"

"Don't you think you should tell your boss that you're back in the 'land of the living'?" Logan asked. Max let out a sigh. 

"Couldn't hurt. You trying to get rid of me?" Logan gave her a smile, and pulled her closer to him. 

"You're the one leaving." He teased. "Taking Zane?" She nodded. 

"Need to find him an apartment. And a job."

"Oh, here." He tossed her his cell phone. 

"What's this for?" 

"Figured you forgot to pack your pager when you checked out of hotel Manticore. Or in, for that matter." She nodded. 

"I think it's at home. Are you going to need me?" She turned the phone over in her hands, looking at it uncomfortably.  

"Probably not. You don't like cell phones?" 

"It's like being kept on a dog leash. An expensive dog leash." Logan rolled his eyes at her good-naturedly. 

"Take the phone. It's not like I pay a phone bill." Max's eyes widened in surprise, a small grin on her face. 

"Not like you pay a phone bill? Has the great Eyes Only become corrupt in my brief absence?" He grinned back at her. 

"Just resourceful. Some big shot on the take is footing the bill for the phone right now. Quite possibly the electricity too."

"Guess you found a way to punish those guys that are too hard to take down." Max smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. 

"I do what I can." Logan smiled.

"Robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. My own personal Robin Hood." She teased.  

"He prefers Batman." Zane's voice interjected from the doorway. "Ready?" Max pulled herself out of Logan's lap and started out the door.

"Take care of her, Robin." Logan joked as he watched them leave. Max turned and gave both her brother and Logan an annoyed look. 

"When do I get a nickname?" She teased lightly. Logan and Zane looked at each other for a moment, then Logan burst out laughing. 

"What? Something funny?" Max demanded, growing more annoyed at the numerous private jokes that Logan and Zane seemed to share. 

"Nothing." Zane smiled. "Come on, Catwoman. Let's go save the world."

*** Max and Original Cindy's apartment, DAY ***

"OC?" Max called out, her eyes darting around the apartment, already sure her friend wasn't there. "Must be at work." She explained to Zane, who was wondering around the room, picking up items and replacing them. 

"So this is home?" He asked, turning around to face her. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. 

"If you can call it that."

"It's great." Zane's eyes shone as he took in all of the personal touches in Max and Original Cindy's apartment. 

"You really need to get out more. This place is a dump." Max responded, with a look of disgust around the apartment. 

"This place is a home." He countered. Max's expression softened. 

"We can check out the other floors if you like. See if there are any vacancies. That is, if you don't mind having your baby sister around." 

"Something tells me you won't be around here so much as you'll be in a certain penthouse." He grinned cheekily in reply.

"Something tells _me_ that if you don't shut up, the list of girls that have kicked your ass this week is going to grow. Now stay here. I need to change."

Zane continued to wander around Max's apartment, staring at photos and going through her refrigerator. He put Logan's present for Original Cindy in the fridge, grinning at the joke. 

"Hold it right there." Zane spun around quickly at the new voice in the apartment. He recognised her immediately, she was the woman who had put Logan in his place only days before. Original Cindy. He started to smile, which only brought a look of panic to her face. 

"This sister knows how to defend herself. You want children? It's probably not a good idea to come any closer." He recognised the tremor in her voice, but her eyes held his, determined.

"This isn't what you think." He began slowly. 

"That's good, cause what Original Cindy thinks is you either lookin' to score some cash, or lookin' to score some skirt. Either way, you outta luck. Get out." 

"I'm not-" The X5 started, holding up his hands in defence. Original Cindy picked up the object closest to her, a frying pan which suddenly seemed extremely dangerous. Weapons from everyday household objects. Something told him she'd get along wonderfully with Kia and Brianna. 

"Cindy…" He began, and Original Cindy's expression became stonier and she lifted the frying pan high. 

"That's Original Cindy to you." Max grinned from the entrance to her room, having changed clothes. Original Cindy's eyes widened and she crossed the room quickly, embracing her friend. Zane watched the two women quietly, waiting for them to finish. They broke apart and Original Cindy looked from Zane to Max. 

"Brother?" She asked, and Max nodded. Zane looked at his sister in disbelief, which quickly changed to an expression she recognised as one of Zack's favourites. 

"Don't start. She knows, and she's not telling anyone." Max explained quickly. 

"Max…" Zane began in a warning tone. 

"Zane, I didn't take orders from Zack, and I'm not taking them from you. You're not my commanding officer."

"That's exactly what I am." He argued, and the two stood facing each other. 

"If you want to be part of my life, then you're my brother. And that's all. I'm not a soldier." She dropped her voice. "I know the risks, Zane. So does Original Cindy. I'm careful." They continued to face each other, each wearing their best glare. Max broke first and gave her brother a smile. "I want you in my life."

"That's a good thing. I don't plan on leaving." Zane smiled back, letting the subject drop. The pair left the apartment, joining Original Cindy outside. 

"We all good?" She asked, looking from one X5 to the other. 

"Just a little disagreement between siblings." Max smiled back. 

*** Jam Pony, DAY ***         

"So what should I tell everybody?" Max, Original Cindy and Zane were entering Jam Pony, Original Cindy pushing her bike beside her. 

"Let a sister handle this. Original Cindy's gonna get out in front of this thing." She grinned at Max and stepped forward. "Hey, everybody! Look who's back from the dead." She called, receiving cheers and greetings for Max. 

"All right! Max! Almost scared me to death." Sketchy came up beside the trio and hugged Max. "This is a joyous turn of events. Now what happened?" Max opened her mouth to explain and to introduce Zane to her friend, but caught sight of Normal. She gave him a sweet smile. 

"Well, well, well. Look who's here." Max's smile widened at the familiar sound of Normal's voice.

_"_What can I say, Normal? Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated." He ignored her and turned around, holding up a package.  

"Hot run, Morningside and Everclear." He called.  

"Got my name on it." Max persisted.

"No. No, your name is mud, missy-miss. I've heard some lame excuses for missing work, but faking your own death for a three-month sabbatical is a new low." He looked around the room for an available messenger. 

"I did not fake my own death. I had a...medical emergency." She searched frantically for an excuse to explain her three month absence, looking quickly to Zane for help. He shrugged his shoulders. Normal looked from Max to her brother, noticing him for the first time.  

"Would you care to explicate?" He asked, barely containing his sarcasm. 

"A heart transplant." Max replied, deciding to tell the truth. Normal laughed in response. 

"That's good. Have you got a note from your doctor, or a prescription for cyclosporine, perhaps? Because I'll need some more proof before I buy that-" Max lifted her shirt with a sigh, showing off the scar on her chest. Original Cindy reached out a hand and covered Sketchy's eyes, and Zane looked down at the floor quickly. Normal gave a sheepish chuckle as Max pulled her shirt back down.  

"That's a nice big, uh...scar you got there." He regained his composure. "I suppose this is your doctor?" He raised his eyebrows to accentuate his sarcastic question. Max rolled her eyes. 

"Logan's cousin. Zane, Normal, Normal, Zane." Normal grunted, looking him up and down. 

"I hope you're not looking for a job. I have enough slackers in my employ." He said to Zane, throwing the package to Max. 

"No sir." Zane replied. "I just came along for the ride." Normal's expression softened when Zane called him 'sir.' He shook his head. 

"Too bad. Could have used someone with your manners in this place. Max! Does 'hot run' mean anything to you? Bip bip bip!" As if on cue, her cell phone rang, and she gave Normal another sweet smile. She looked over at Zane, who was talking with Sketchy and Random, another bike messenger who'd just returned from a run.  

"Yeah?" Max called into the phone, knowing Logan was the only one with her new number. 

 "I'm looking for Logan." The voice on the other end of the phone was female, and sounded curious. 

"Logan's not here." Max responded, keeping her voice steady. 

"Who's this?" The female's voice was both wary and accusatory, and Max's defences went up immediately. 

"You called me. Who's this?" 

"Bip." Normal's voice floated in and Max turned away from him. 

"How did you get this phone?" The woman demanded. 

"Maybe I stole it."

"Bip bip!" Normal, having become frustrated by Max annoying him, turned to the rest of his employees. 

"I need to speak to Logan." The woman on the other end of the phone persisted, and Max rolled her eyes. 

"Logan's not here." 

"Thanks for your help." The other woman said sarcastically, and the phone went dead. Max shrugged her shoulders and walked towards the Jam Pony crew. 

"Max!" Random exclaimed as she approached. 

"Hey Random." She replied with a polite smile. "How're things? Did you meet Zane?" 

"This is a business people! Bip bip bip! Max! Take this package and get out of here, before I fire you!" Max looked at the others and rolled her eyes as her cell phone rang again. 

"Yeah?" Max called, stepping away from her friends. 

"So I just had a strange phone call." Max caught herself smiling at the sound of Logan's voice. 

"Hmmm. Was it a woman by any chance? 'Cause there's a bit of that going around." 

"She told me that my phone was stolen by an angry woman with attitude. Oh, and she mentioned strange bipping noises in the background." She could hear the smile in his voice. 

"And you thought of me." 

"Actually, you were my third guess." Max rolled her eyes at the joke. 

"So what's up?" She asked.

"Apparently there's a massive military action going down in the woods around Manticore." At the mention of Manticore, Max turned away and lowered her voice. 

"Same thing happened back in '09. By the time they got their act together, we were gone." 

"There's a difference." Logan continued. "You escaped because you wanted out. They ran for their lives. They may not even realize Manticore wanted them dead." Max was silent while she thought about it. 

"Max?" Logan asked. 

"We'll leave now." She replied, turning back to the Jam Pony employees and catching Zane's eye across the room. 

"There's more." Logan continued. "I've got some footage of some kind of message. Lights and stars, same location. Shot last night by an informant. You might want to take a look."

"Be right there." Max pressed the button to end the call, and came face to face with Normal. 

"You're not going anywhere, Missy-miss."

"Sorry Normal, it's important. Doctor's appointment."

"What about the package?" She ignored him. He sighed, watching her leave. "It's like she never left."

*** No-Tel Motel, DAY ***

"This is so cool." The girl said, touching Alec's barcode. "Does it say how much you cost?" She giggled.

"A lot more than you, sweetheart." He answered, smiling to himself over his joke. He stayed glued to the television as she persisted with conversation, throwing in answers to her endless questions once in a while. The X5 felt his stomach growl and looked at his watch. Thirteen hundred hours. Alec thought of the strict routines at Manticore and wondered briefly if they'd programmed their eating schedule into him, or if he'd just become accustomed to their meal times. 

"Hey," Alec said, handing the girl some money. "Why don't you go grab us something to eat, will you?" He gave her a winning smile. 

"Okay." She replied, finding some clothes and dressing. Alec watched her briefly, then turned back to the television. 

"Okay." He repeated as she left. 

*** Food Mart – Exterior, DAY ***

A group of Manticore children hiding in bushes watched the Food Mart hungrily. 

"I'm starving." One of the females groaned. 

"Me too." A male agreed, as they watched a man leave the store holding food. 

"If I don't get something to eat soon, I'm going to kill somebody." The female continued, watching another girl enter the store. 

"They're not gonna give us food. Not without money." One of the other males whispered, looking around for an alternative food source. The female shook her head. 

"I'm going in." She whispered determinedly, stepping out of the bushes. The two males followed, and the three of them walked into the Food Mart. 

They wandered the aisles, staring at the shelves. 

"Look!" One of the Manticore kids whispered, grabbing a box of the shelf. The three children stared. 

"A barcode. What does it mean?" The younger male whispered. "Means it's ours." The female said, tucking the box into her jacket. She glanced over her shoulder briefly and saw a woman staring at her barcode. 

"Hey, where'd you guys get those? My friend has one just like that." The woman asked as the children continued stuffing food into their clothing. They ignored her.  

"That's it. Let's go." 

"Hey…" The woman said, watching them begin leaving. 

"Hold it." The Food Mart clerk yelled, pulling out a gun. "I said hold it!" At the sight of the weapon, the Manticore children sprang into action, one of the males grabbing the gun and firing it into the wall before wrestling it away from the clerk, while the other male took the money from the draw and the female grabbed more snack food. Still holding the gun, the male transgenic backed up slowly, before joining the others in sprinting away.   

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"Any ideas?" Zane and Max were standing behind Logan, who had just pulled up footage of the signal in the sky. 

"It's the bat-signal, Batman. Gotham city needs our help!" Zane quipped. Max shot him a glare. 

"It's a signal from Manticore." Max explained, exchanging another look with her brother. "We were trained to look for it in case the facility was compromised." Logan nodded, looking from one X5 to the other. 

"What does it say?" He asked quietly. Though he assumed each X5 had read and memorised the signal immediately, the pair were still staring at the computer screen. Zane tore his eyes away. 

"Regroup. Echo Golf 427952. Friday." He recited without looking at the screen.  

"Today." Max confirmed. She looked briefly at her brother, then they both turned and started out of the apartment. 

"Whoa!" Logan called, standing up. "Where are you going?"

"Family reunion." Zane grinned. Max rolled her eyes at him. "Race ya." He challenged, and her eyes lit up at the challenge. She looked back at Logan, and her face became more serious. 

"Logan, they tried to kill them. Now they want to finish the job."

"You don't know that. They could just be loading them up and shipping them off to a new facility somewhere." He protested. 

"See, that doesn't work for me either."

"Fine. You want to go out and save the day? What's the plan?" Logan challenged. 

"We go. Save the day. Come back." 

"Max..." She caught the look in his eyes and smiled sadly, then stepped forward into his arms. Zane coughed and looked at the ground. 

"This is happening because of me." She said softly, looking up at him. "I forced them to go. That's my family. Some of them are screwed up. Some of them don't look like you or me or anything anybody's ever seen before...but I'm responsible for them just the same." 

"Now she's mother to an entire army. And all before dinner time." 

"Zane..." Logan warned. 

"Keep me in the loop." He whispered, handing the cell phone back to her. She frowned at it, unsure of when she'd dropped it. 

"Be careful." He whispered, and she looked over her shoulder and gave him a smile as she followed her brother out of the apartment.  

*** Rendezvous point, DAY ***

"Agent White, sir, we have a possible sighting, Echo Golf 4278" 

"How many?" White asked, turning to face the soldier. 

"Six or seven." The soldier replied as a cell phone started ringing. 

"All right. Send a unit to check it out." He waved on the soldier, who nodded and walked away, shouting orders into a radio mike. White watched him leave, a scowl on his face, then reached for his still ringing cell phone. 

"White." He barked into the phone, listening to the caller. 

"Handle it. We don't want local law enforcement involved. The idea is to keep this mess under wraps." He paused, listening to the protest of the man on the other end of the line. 

"Well, tell them they can shove their jurisdiction, that this is a federal matter." He pressed the button to end the call as another soldier approached. 

"Sir, the report on the signalling operation you asked for." The soldier stood at attention and waited. 

"How many?"

"Thirty-eight have showed up at the rendezvous point over the course of the day." 

"Continue the signal." 

*** Deserted Barn, DAY ***

Alec picked up a food wrapper, then continued walking. He'd seen the kids run from the Food Mart, and groaned at the sight of their familiar movements and appearances. He'd been following the evidence of their raid, discarded snack-food bags and, at one point, a Cheeto. The X5 stopped, looking up at an old barn. He shook his head and walked inside. 

"Daddy's home." He said sarcastically, looking around at the group of kids. The Manticore children immediately stood at attention, dropping the food they'd been busily consuming before his arrival. 

"X6-787, sir." A male X6 barked out. 

"X6-809, sir." The female immediately stated, 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." The soldiers in front of him stood at ease.  

_"_What are you bozos thinking, knocking over a Kwik-E-Mart? 

"Sir?" X6-787 asked, confused.  

"I had a very sweet deal going, and you blew it." He noticed an X7 standing at the wall of the barn. "What's that doing here?" Another of the children followed his gaze. 

"He escaped the attack with us, sir." X6-809 answered. 

"The attack?" Alec asked incredulously.

"On Manticore."  

"Command's been re-established. We saw a signal to regroup last night." X6-787 stated. X6-809 nodded. 

"The rendezvous is about six klicks from here, south-southwest. We were just about to move out." She explained. 

"Gang, I hate to break it to you, but Manticore was not attacked. They tried to barbecue us." Alec looked at the group.  

"Sir?" X6-787 asked, again confused.  

"They're trying to kill us. The signal's bogus. It's a trap." He explained.  

"If I may, sir...That doesn't make any sense. We're valuable military assets, representing billions of dollars in R&D." The X6 turned to the rest of his group.  

"Why would Manticore try to get rid of us?" One of the other soldiers asked with a small voice.  

"I want to get rid of you, and I just met you." Alec quipped with a smile.  

"We should be going, sir. They're waiting." X6-787 again faced the rest of the group and started giving instructions. 

"Okay, what part of 'They're trying to kill you' did you not understand?" Alec exclaimed with frustration. 

"All respect, sir, but officers of rank superior to yours left standing orders to regroup when instructed to do so." Alec sighed and gave the soldiers a fake smile.  

"Well, far be it from me to violate the chain of command." He said sarcastically.  

"Yes, far be it." A voice came from the door. A dark haired soldier stood watching the scene. Alec recognised her as an X5. She shifted her glare to the younger soldiers in the room, and raised her eyebrows at X6-787.

"Fall in." He immediately stated. Alec looked at him, ignoring the X5 female in the doorway. 

"You're really gonna do this?" He asked in disbelief. The younger soldiers all lined up with X6-787 in response. The X7 hadn't moved.  

X6-787 looked in the direction of the X7.

"Didn't you hear me, soldier?" He asked in a commanding voice.  

"Oh, he heard you." Alec answered. "He just can't believe his ears." 

"I'm going to have to report you. Both of you." The X6 gave the X7 a final look and looked back to Alec.  

"You do that." Alec smiled again, watching the scene in front of him with interest.  

X6-787 turned back to the female X5. She gave him a series of hand signals, then turned and walked away. He nodded, and turned back to the soldiers. 

"Left face." He commanded, and the younger soldiers turned obediently. "Quick march." He said, and the soldiers marched off in the direction the female X5 was walking.

*** Rendezvous point, NIGHT ***

"We're really lucky, aren't we?" Max and Zane were pushing their bikes to the rendezvous point, and she spoke at a volume barely above a whisper. 

"Lucky?" Zane asked, scanning the area for Manticore soldiers. 

"We know what Manticore is. Maybe not completely, but we know they're the bad guys. The rest of them, they don't know. They don't know anything else. Here's a bunch of doctors and whackos that have been torturing them their whole lives, forcing them to fight with each other, to murder people…" Max closed her eyes briefly. "And Manticore snaps their fingers…" She trailed off, focussing on a point in the distance. 

"Or flashes their pretty lights…" Zane whispered, glancing up at the signal. 

"And they come running back for more." She finished. She pointed out the bridge, where a soldier in charge was dragging a dead transgenic away. 

"Not if we can help it, Max." She looked at him and nodded. 

Zane gestured to her, three short hand signals. She acknowledged them, climbing onto her bike. Zane did the same and pointed out the group of children that were fast approaching the bridge. 

Max arrived at the group of kids first, in time to see the looks of concern and confusion crossing their faces as the armed soldiers at the other end of the bridge raised their guns. Zane rode around behind them as Max forced her Ninja into the group of armed men, knocking them to the ground. 

"Run!" Zane yelled at the Manticore kids and female X5. The group turned and ran, blurring with speed in the direction from which they had come. 

Zane followed Max and the wounded soldier on his own bike, covering the group with a weapon. 

*** Deserted barn, NIGHT ***

Alec looked up in surprise at the X5 female, who had just burst into the barn. 

"Don't tell me. It was a trap. No, an ambush." He teased lightly, receiving only a glare in response. The rest of the soldiers followed her a moment later, and she looked at them briefly before walking toward the rear of the barn. 

"Securing exits." She said shortly by way of explanation, and disappeared from sight. 

"Sir, you were right. It was an ambush." One of the young female soldiers explained to Alec, breathlessly.   

"They shot at us." One of the males joined him, stopping when the sound of a motorcycle became louder. 

"Escape and evade. _Evade_." Alec said sarcastically. "If you idiots let them follow you…" Alec looked out at the noise and saw Max riding with X6-787, followed by another bike. 

"Oh great." He groaned, 

"It's them?" The younger male asked from his position at Alec's elbow. 

"I wish." Alec replied, and the male looked confused.  Max entered carrying the younger soldier, and Zane followed, his eyes scanning the direction they had just come from. 

"Get me something to tie his leg off with." She demanded, and Alec stepped in, removing his belt. She looked him up and down while Zane helped her lay the X6 on a table. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked. Zane gave Alec a quick glance, and shaking off the familiar feeling that he was getting from the X5.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Change your mind about the breeding partner thing?" Zane's face clouded over, and he fixed an angry gaze on Alec. Max caught his eye and shook her head slightly. 

"I'd kick your ass, but we don't have time for that right now." She answered, tying off the wounded leg. "Anything here we can use?" She asked Zane, turning back to look around the barn. The X6 made a noise and she turned back to him. 

"It's going to be okay." She soothed. "It'll be just a few more-" Max was interrupted by the full force of a body lurching on to her. She struggled in surprise and immediately fought back, throwing punches. The pair wrestled on the ground, neither gaining any advantage, while the other soldiers watched, not understanding what was going on. 

Zane circled the pair, trying to distinguish between his sister and her attacker so that he could help, but the two females were moving so quickly it was almost impossible. Alec reached in and grabbed the female X5 by her hair, dragging her off Max. 

"Damn, I was hoping that would be your hair I was pulling." He grinned at Max, who was lying on the ground breathing heavily. Zane shot him a dirty look and helped his sister to her feet, and the three X5s stared at the female attacker, now lying face down on the floor. The X6s stood further back, watching the scene quietly. 

"Rogue scum!" The female hissed from the floor. She pulled herself onto all fours, and flicked her hair out of her face. Slowly she rose to her feet and turned to face the group. Max's eyes went wide as she recognised the woman in front of her. 

"Brin?"


	10. Severed Leashes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dark Angel. I'm just using the characters and some story lines as puppets for my own amusement. I'm not making any money out of this story. 

**Spoilers/Timeframe**: Set during "Bag 'Em" 

**A/N:** I love writing cliff-hangers, and I make no apologies for them! I'm only sorry that I take so long to write new chapters. 

I didn't really like the second season of the show. So after this chapter, I will stop following the story lines of season two closely. They may be referenced once in a while, but that is all. Sorry to disappoint any devoted season two fans out there, but that's just the way it is. Oh, and I don't hate Alec, and I don't intend to character bash. 

Again, I've fiddled with the timeline of the episode. I know that the passage of time is very different than it is in 'Bag 'Em.' There are also things that have been added, or left out. It's all intentional. 

Thanks to Kyre for her episode transcripts, which I would be incredibly lost without, and special thanks to Aimee, my wonderful beta. 

****

**Chapter 10 – Severed Leases**

*** Barn, NIGHT ***

"We need something to tie her up with." Max said, looking around the barn. 

"Had I known you were into bondage, I wouldn't have let you escape so quickly." Alec gave her a grin and raised his eyebrows. 

"Shut up." Zane yelled harshly, struggling to hold on to Brin.

"Will these do?" Alec held out a pair of handcuffs. Together, he and Zane cuffed Brin to a pole, then retied her with a rope Max tossed them. 

"I don't want to know where you got those." Max nodded at the handcuffs. 

"It's quite a funny story actually." Alec grinned. 

"Whatever. You!" Max called, her eyes falling on an X6.

"Yes Ma'm?" The X6 replied obediently. 

"The name's Max." She corrected. 

"Yes Ma'm." Max rolled her eyes. 

"Keep an eye on her. If she moves, speak up. Or shoot her in the leg."

"I'll watch her." Zane countered quickly, eying the X6 up and down. Max stepped quickly over to her brother, resisting the temptation to slap him. 

"We don't have time for this. Sorry it was me that gave the order and not you. But the kid should watch her."

"No Max. That 'kid,' or 'genetically engineered super soldier,' if you want to look at it that way, still belongs to Manticore. Up here." He explained, pointing at his temple. "She could persuade him to turn." Max looked over at Brin, who was staring straight at her. She turned back to Zane, away from Brin, and spoke in a barely audible voice. 

"Be careful. She's not the same as she was." A groan came from the wounded X6 soldier and Max hurried away. 

Zane approached his sister with caution, and the pretence of fear. Her eyes fleeted over him momentarily before returning to Max. 

"Traitor! Vermin!" She hissed in a voice loud enough for Max to hear. Zane didn't need to look over his shoulder to know that Max was ignoring her. Though if the way Brin's comments were affecting him were anything to go by, Max was feeling each and every word. Feeling them cut deep. He sat down, trying his best to look bored, and studied his sister. 

Alec pulled out his pocket knife and looked from the X6 to Max. "The bullet went right through. We're gonna have to cauterize."

"What happened?" X6-809 asked, voice heavy with confusion. "Why were they shooting at us?" 

Max ignored the young female and studied the patient in front of her. 

"He's going into shock. Get something to keep him warm." She looked at Alec briefly, who was searching through his pockets. 

"I'm going to be sick." The other female X6 murmured before slowly (and palely) retreating. 

"Bet that one flunked field med." Alec muttered, producing a lighter and running its flame over the blade of his knife. He handed the sterilised knife to Max. "Go." 

"I'm not gonna lie--this is gonna hurt like hell." Max said by way of warning, before touching the blade to X6-787's leg. He yelled, then closed his eyes tightly. 

"Hang on, hang on. It's almost over." Alec said reassuringly as the X6 held back screams.  "Okay, it's done. Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay. All right?" Max gave him an uncertain glance and looked around at the other 'soldiers' in the room. 

"Yeah, so long as we get him and the rest of these kids out of here." She muttered, looking back at Alec. 

"What do you mean, "we"? This is your party, not mine." He replied, earning a dark look from Max. 

"You can't just-" She began ---

"This is not the mission!" Brin yelled suddenly, causing Max to break off, and an X6 to jump. Zane looked at her sharply. For her part, she hadn't tried to talk him into releasing her, hadn't spoken a word since he'd begun his watch over her. 

"We need to return to the rendezvous point." She continued, speaking only to the X6 soldiers in the room. They looked at each other, dubious. 

"Were you asleep back there? They tried to kill you. Twice. You want to make that three times lucky?" Alec said in a sarcastic voice accentuated by the rolling of his eyes. 

"They weren't after us." Brin spat back. "They were after the traitor."

"Make that _traitors_." Zane cut in. Brin studied him properly for the first time, then spat on the floor in front of him. He raised his eyebrows. 

"I see the Manticore finishing school is still producing quality women with fantastic manners." He quipped with a quick glance at Max. He turned back to Brin, who suddenly leapt forward, having freed herself, and launched an attack on Zane. 

*** Temporary Command Centre, Rendezvous point, NIGHT ***

"Sir, we've been unable to locate the database." The soldier said nervously, avoiding looking White in the eye. 

"Look harder. It's there." 

"With all due respect, sir, the men have been searching since the fire was contained. All they have been able to come up with is this." The soldier handed White a folder. He studied it briefly. 

"Tell them to search again. I need that database." He said roughly, returning his gaze to the file. 

"Yes sir." The soldier retreated quickly. White smiled at the file, tapping it with a finger. 

"Well well, looks like they got further than we thought. X5-452. There are a lot of people that are going to want to know about you."

*** Barn, NIGHT ***

Max looked wearily around at the X6s in the barn, trying to ignore the permanent death stare Brin was giving her. Her ankle was throbbing, probably broken, owing to an injury she had sustained pulling Brin off Zane. Added to the darkening bruises on her face from their earlier run in, she looked a mess. Alec stood guarding Brin and throwing popcorn at the X7, whose eyes were fixed on a point outside of the window. Max looked over her shoulder. Zane had begun working on a pickup truck housed by the barn. She flinched at the sight of the cut over his eye that he had hastily patched up, then turned away again. 

"All right, people. Fall in." She commanded, and the X6s responded immediately by forming a line. Alec didn't move from his guard position, nor from throwing popcorn at the X7, who also stayed where he was. Brin's scowl darkened. 

"There's been a change in your mission status- extreme and unforseen." She began, the Manticore terminology flooding back to her. "You've been betrayed by your own command. What do you do?" The Manticore children looked at her. 

"Redeploy." They responded, and Max nodded.

"Correct. How?" The X6s remained silent. 

"Unknown, ma'am." One answered. "We have no training with regard to that circumstance."

"Do you know what that means?" Max challenged, surveying the children in front of her. 

"No, ma'am." They answered. 

"All your training goes out the window." She finished. 

"Yes ma'am." The X6s chorused. 

"Starting with your blind obedience to Manticore and all it represents." She continued.  

"Yes, ma'am." They replied obediently. 

"Which means you're going to stop calling me ma'am and start calling me Max."

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Yes, _Max_." She said, exasperated. "That's my name. And now that you're in the real world, you all should have names, too." 

"Oh, for the love of-" Alec began.  

"Shut up!" Max interrupted. Alec looked from her to the threatening look Zane was giving him and shrugged his shoulders. He looked pointedly at Brin as if to remind them of his 'guard duty' favour, then went back to throwing popcorn. 

"You have to stop thinking of yourselves as soldiers and start thinking of yourselves as people." Max continued.  

"But we _are_ soldiers." An X6 protested. Max stormed over to him, looking down with her most threatening face.  

"You mouthing off to me?" She yelled into his face. "'Cause I have zero tolerance for that. Zero! And to commemorate this special moment, that's gonna be your name--Zero. Get out on sentry duty." Zero immediately left for his duty, and Max addressed the rest of the group. 

"People have names, not numbers. If you're going to survive out here, you need to blend in. That means names. I have one, Alec has one," She said, gesturing to Alec. He gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes at the comment. "And even Brin has one." She finished, daring a quick look at her sister. Brin's eyes hadn't left Max's face, but she made no sign of having heard the comment. Max turned back to the soldiers in front of her. 

"I saw you messing around with that radio there." She said to X6-809.   

"I excelled in diagnostics and repair. I was trying to fix it." The young soldier replied. 

"Fixit--that's gonna be your name. And that's what I want you to do. Go help Zane with that old pickup." Fixit hurried away and Max turned back to the group, fixing her gaze on the weak-stomached female. 

"You're the girl that threw up." She stated. Alec paused from his popcorn throwing and smirked. 

"You could always call her Ralph." Max turned to shoot him a glare. 

"Ralph. I like it." The female said. 

"It's a boy's name." Max told her. The X6 shrugged. 

"I still like it." She said. 

"Ralph it is, then. Go check on Bullet." 

"Who's Bullet?" 

"The kid that got shot." Ralph nodded, leaving in the direction of the wounded soldier. Max turned to the remaining X6, and her heart went out to him. She looked him over.  He was by far the smallest and looked the most vulnerable of all the other soldiers. 

"That yours?" She asked, nodding at the bugle he held tightly in his hand. The child nodded proudly. 

"I'm in the bugle corps." He replied with a smile. 

"Bugler it is." Max smiled.  

"What's my assignment?" He asked in his small voice. 

"Getting some sleep." 

"It's not lights-out yet." He protested weakly. 

"That's okay. Let's find a place for you to bunk down." She said gently. 

Alec was watching with interest. He caught Max's eye and gestured at the X7. 

"What about him? Doesn't he need a name?"

"I'll leave that to you, since you two seem to be getting along so well." She said in a pained voice.  Alec shrugged and threw more popcorn. 

"That's it. Good." Zane said to Fixit, watching her work on the car. "You know, there are a lot of things broken out here in the real world. Fixing things is a good skill to have." Fixit gave him a half smile. 

"Thank you, Sir." She replied. 

"Zane."

"Thank you, Zane." Zane ruffled the young soldier's hair. 

"That should just about do it. Shouldn't take too long now." He turned and saw Max watching them. "I'll be right back." He said to Fixit, who nodded.

"Yes Si- Zane." 

"You didn't mind me taking control back there?" Max asked quietly. 

"Of course not. You're mother to the entire army, remember? I'm just your CO."

"Funny. You're good with her." Zane turned back to check on Fixit's progress and then gave Max a smile. 

"Just passing on my great wealth of knowledge on automobiles." 

"Modesty was never your strong point." Zane's grin widened, but fell as he studied Max's face. 

"It's hard, isn't it?" He said quietly. 

"What?" 

"Watching her like that. Seeing what they did to her. It's hard." Max glanced at Brin briefly.  

"She hates us, Zane."

"We'll get her back, Maxie." Max looked down at the floor. 

"We should really find you a job." She changed the subject quickly, looking back to Fixit and the car. Zane hesitated, unwilling to let the subject drop. He looked at her face, which was focussed hard on Fixit. 

"Couldn't be too hard to find some busted up cars in our fair city." Zane agreed, pretending not to notice the small sigh of relief that escaped Max when he let the subject go. 

"I could always bust some up for you." She said with a forced smile, turning to face him again. "I'll look around when I'm making deliveries. Look for mechanics. See what I can do. I'll get the gang onto it."

"Sounds great." He responded with a smile. 

"It is hard." She whispered, looking away once more. "Not just her either. Him. Alec. He's-" 

"I know." He nodded softly. "Took me a while, but I picked it. But it's not him, Max. He's not Ben." 

"I know that. I _know that. But it breaks my heart just to look at him. I killed our brother, Zane. That's not going away." She took a deep breath. "That's my punishment." She finished, waving her hand in Alec's direction. _

"Max-" Zane began, but she shook her head. 

"You can't talk me out of it, Zane. I was there. You weren't. I killed him. You didn't. I have to live with it. Just forget it." Tears formed in her eyes and she jammed her fists into them to stop the tears from falling, standing and walking out of the barn, leaving a speechless Zane staring after her in disbelief.  

*** Temporary Command Centre, Rendezvous Point, NIGHT ***

"Help me to understand how a girl on a motorcycle got the drop on you and all of your men." White demanded, glaring at the soldier in front of him.  

"It's hard to explain, sir. It all happened so fast we-" he floundered, looking around frantically. His eyes fell on the open file lying on the makeshift desk. 

"That's her sir. The girl on the motorcycle." He pointed to the file. 

"You sure?"

"Yes, sir." The soldier answered. 

"Don't just stand there. Find her." The soldier departed. 

"And find me that database!" White yelled to nobody in particular.  

*** Barn, NIGHT ***

With a sigh, Max checked on the last sleeping X6 and sat down. She met Zane's eyes and gave him a half smile. He looked relieved at her change in mood. 

"We should move on. This place isn't safe enough for us." He said in a low voice. Max shook her head in disagreement. 

"Big day tomorrow. They need their sleep." She looked at the X7, who was looking out the window. 

"All except bat boy over there. Looks like he got some shark in his cocktail as well."

"Cocktail?" Instead of answering, Max frowned at the X7, who was smiling for the first time. She spun around and checked that Brin was still where they had left her, then turned back to him. 

"Do you hear…?" Max began before being interrupted by Zero darting into the barn from his position as sentry. 

"Max! Soldiers outside!" Zero exclaimed. Zane jumped to his feet. 

"Get away from the window!" He yelled to Zero. 

"You too!" Max ordered the X7. He looked at her briefly before returning his gaze to the window. She spotted two other X7 soldiers watching. 

"Zane!" She called. He spun from his position at the car and looked at her. 

"Someone's been talking out of school." She said, nodding to the X7. "We've gotta go now." Zane nodded to Zero, who tried to start the engine. 

"Ralph, tie him up and blindfold him. We're leaving him here." She turned to the car, which both Zane and Fixit were hurriedly examining. 

"It won't start?" She said incredulously. "What happened to your great wealth of automobile knowledge?"

"Shut up Max." Zane hissed, but his reply was drowned out by the sound of breaking glass. The barn began filling with smoke. 

"Why are they using smokers?" Bullet asked in a confused voice. "I thought they wanted us dead."  

"Me too. Come on, into the truck." She turned, looking through the entrance of the barn. "Hurry!" She yelled to Zane, who had ordered Fixit into the pickup.

"Get Brin!" He yelled back. Max strode purposefully over to Brin's corner of the barn, but was cut off by the group of soldiers entering. She immediately took two soldiers down, retreating briefly as they opened fire. 

"Go!" Zane yelled to the children as the truck started. "That's an order!" He called over his shoulder as he followed in the direction Max had disappeared in. Zane effortlessly knocked out a soldier, taking his gas mask in an effort to blend in, and stayed low, darting between cover. The X5 heard a loud crash as the truck full of X6 children burst through the wall of the barn, then a smaller one as Max jumped from the loft of the barn and took out more soldiers. Zane broke his cover and rushed to assist his sister, only to be stopped half way by a dull knock to his head. He fell backwards, landing heavily on the ground and blinked, trying to bring the barn and his assailant into focus. 

"Brin?" He whispered before his world went black. 

Zane blinked, allowing his mind and body to assess the situation before making any other movements. Hearing the sounds of soldiers outside the barn, he estimated that he'd only been out a few minutes. He listened carefully to the soldiers, and for possible sounds of closer enemies. 

"Foxtrot One to command. We have her, sir." A soldier spoke into his radio and Zane froze, devoting all energy to listening. 

"Say again, Foxtrot One." Came the response from the radio.  

"We have X5-452." Zane remained still until the sounds of the retreating vehicles and absence of other noises told him it was safe to follow. Pulling himself to his feet, he rubbed the back of his head where Brin had attacked, and allowed himself to wonder if he was to spend the rest of his life being beaten up and knocked out by women. With a sigh, he headed into the direction of the makeshift military base. 

*** Temporary military base, NIGHT ***

_Assess the situation_

Manticore's words pounded in Zane's head as he surveyed the scene playing out before him. Bad guys out in force. Caged transgenics everywhere, with clipboards attached to the cages. He focussed hard on one and felt sick to his stomach.

_D2-807  _

_Designed for harsh arid environments.__ Can survive for long periods of time without water.  _

**Current bid: ****US**** 107, 250 - Australian armed forces.  **

"Transgenics for sale." He muttered to himself with a shake of his head. He scanned the area for either one of his sisters, spotting Max through the open entry to a large tent. She was in a cage next to a nomaly, whose price tag read 97, 000. Someone was getting rich quick. He focussed on Max's clipboard. 

_Not for sale._

Zane frowned at the thought of his sister as a commodity to be bought or sold at will. With a risky plan forming in his head, he took a few steps forward to further assess the situation when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Immediately poised to strike, he flicked his head around to get a better look. 

The group of X6 kids were behind a bush. With Alec approaching them from behind. 

Zane gave a short sigh of relief at the sight of reinforcements, then forced an angry expression. 

"I told you to leave." He whispered to the X6s and Alec in a harsh voice. 

"You told us not to follow orders." Fixit whispered back. Zane gave her a half smile. 

"And you?" He nodded at Alec.

"Didn't have anything better to do tonight." He avoided Zane's gaze. "Let's get this over with." Zane gave the group a series of handsignals and they split up, moving quickly from the cover of the bushes.  

Alec and Zane sat in silence, waiting for the X6 children to complete their part of the plan. It was not a comfortable silence. Zane scanned the area while Alec looked bored and played with a blade of grass. The lights that had been illuminating the area went out. 

"Good work, Zero." Zane whispered to himself, praising the X6 for knocking out the generator. He nodded to Alec as Bullet and Ralph surprised and took down the guards and Bugler set about liberating Manticore soldiers from their cages. The two X5s darted forward, and Alec seized a set of keys and a gun from one of the 'sleeping' soldiers. He followed Zane into the now unguarded tent. 

"Zane." Max sounded relieved at the sight of her brother. "Alec." She continued, sounding a little more uncertain. 

"To the rescue." Alec grinned as Zane unlocked the cage. The trio heard a click as the lock opened, and Max stepped out. 

"Him too." She said, pointing to the reptilian man in the cage next to her own. Zane shot her a look that was clearly questioning her sanity. 

"Are you kidding?" Alec asked, leaning closer to study the 'nomaly' whose clipboard showed his designation to be A0-403. 

"Do it!" Max demanded, looking from one man to the other. Zane slowly pulled the key from Max's lock and moved to the other cage. 

"It's gonna be okay." Max said to the reptilian soldier. "We're gonna get you out of here." Zane opened the cage. "Go." Max ordered in a firm voice. The soldier ran out of the tent past Alec, who was keeping watch. 

"You're welcome!" Alec shouted after him. He looked back at Zane and Max. "Come on, let's go." 

The three left the tent and set about helping the X6 soldiers free the remaining Manticore soldiers. 

"Zane, look!" Max whispered, pointing. Zane followed her gaze. 

"Brin." He murmured, watching her free a captured soldier. She moved past a 'nomaly' soldier obviously built for missions in sub zero temperatures, and started on the cage of an X series female. As if sensing them watching her, Brin turned. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of them, and she ran in the opposite direction, leaving the soldier in her cage. 

"Come on. We have to help." Max said. Zane ignored her, and watched Brin leave. 

"Zane. She'll be ok." 

"Right. Let's go." He headed away from the caged transgenics and Brin's retreating form purposefully. 

"Where are you going?" 

"Laser." He explained. Max looked up at the stars and nodded. 

"Hurry. Reinforcements can't be far away."

Zane approached the man running the laser quickly and stealthily. He stood poised to attack, but was distracted by a sound behind him. He turned and assumed an attack position, only to find Alec standing before him. Alec grinned, pushing past Zane and taking out the guard. 

"Didn't want you to have all the fun." He explained. Zane glared at him, stepping over the guard to take control of the signal. While Alec kept watch, he changed the message in the sky. 

_Separate and scatter. Go to ground._

"It's done." Zane whispered. The two X5s guarded the machine and its signal for another ten minutes. 

"Trash it." Zane finally said softly, and Alec aimed his gun, shooting out the machine. 

*** Roadside, DAY ***

"ID's and passports to get you across the border to Canada." Max said, handing out the papers that Logan had given her to the group of young ex-soldiers. 

"Are we ever gonna see you again?" Zero asked. 

"Promise. Now I'm going to drop a little wisdom on you grunts, so pay attention. First time I got out in the world, I lost track of all the kids I escaped with. Spent the next ten years trying to find them." She exchanged a smile with Zane, who was fine tuning something on the truck. "Don't let that happen to you. Stay together. You're family." Alec shifted awkwardly.  

"Okay, I'm out of here before the waterworks start." He started to walk away. 

"Hold on. We have one last thing to do...as soldiers." Max ordered

"And what's that?" 

"Pay our respects to those who didn't make it. Attention!" The group listened to Bugler's music in silence, remaining still even after it ceased. Alec left the group first, driving away in a convertible he had produced from somewhere, radio blasting. 

Zane watched him leave before turning back to the car and fiddling with it, talking quietly to Fixit. Max addressed the rest of the group, joking around and giving advice. Zane and Fixit slammed down the bonnet and rejoined the group, who were now sparring playfully. 

Max left Zane talking to the kids and walked over to Logan. He swept her into a hug.

"Thanks for coming through on their papers." 

"No problem. Would have been nice to hear from you a little earlier though." He pulled back and delicately ran a finger over a nasty bruise around her eye, a concerned look on his face. 

"Too busy trying to keep the freak show under control. My freak show." She sighed. 

"You did a good thing, Max. Not just for them, but for all of 'em. They'll figure it out." She nodded and he pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head.  She pulled away from him enough to wave at the children departing in the pickup. 

Zane stood a distance away, looking awkward, giving them their space. 

"So you heading back into town?" Logan asked, looking down at her. 

"Zane and I are going to hang around. Make sure no more lost kids turn up." Max looked at the ground. "And I need to talk to him." She smiled up at him. 

"Thanks for being here Logan."

"It's what I do."

*** Roadside, NIGHT ***

Hours later, the two X5 soldiers sat hidden a small distance from the road, laughing together. They had remained that way for the better part of the day. The bad guys had, for the most part, retreated, and Max and Zane had taken down those that were left behind to wait for any soldiers that had missed the 'go to ground' signal Alec and Zane had sent. 

"And he still thinks I hacked into that system on my own? He must be driving himself crazy." Zane laughed. 

"You should have told him. Computers are his thing. It's important that they're secure. You turn up and hack his system in five minutes-"

"Under five minutes" Zane corrected with a laugh. "I'll let him know sooner or later. It'll teach him to keep his blinds closed when he's entering his passwords." The pair laughed together. 

"So what's this thing with you being a big important junk-free genetically engineered super soldier?" Zane changed the subject and laughed, nudging Max in the ribs. She groaned, not previously having noticed the pain hiding there. 

"I don't care. I just want a bath." She said flippantly. 

"Going to Logan's?" 

"Where there's hot water, there's hot bath water." 

"I'm sure that's the only reason." He teased lightly. 

"Didn't say it was. Are you coming?" He grinned at her tone, which was letting him know beyond any doubt that he was not invited back to Logan's. 

"I've gotta go. Get things in order for the move. I have a dog that's missing me right now." He said proudly. 

"I'll get on top of living arrangements. Promise to have something ready by the time you get back from your visit to Kia. Oh, and say hi for me." Max gave him a knowing smile. 

"What makes you thing I'm going to see Kia?" Zane looked at her in surprise. 

"Oh I don't think you're going to see _Kia. _It'd just be pretty hard to see her friend without bumping into her too." Glad it was dark to hide the blush he was sure was spreading over his face, Zane laughed nervously. 

"I'm never speaking to you again." He said in a monotone. 

"Fine by me." Max grinned back. 

"Even if the whereabouts of every other X5 are in my head?" Zane asked, the tease back in his voice. 

"Thought you were never speaking to me again?" The pair laughed, neither making the move to leave, instead sitting in silence, listening out for any lingering threat of White, Manticore, or lost soldiers. 

"Think they'll make it?" Zane said into the darkness. 

"Yeah. They have each other. It's getting the Manticore out of the system that'll take the longest. And they'll always be looking over their shoulders." Zane nodded. 

"When did you break yours, Max?" She sighed. 

"It's been a long day. You're going to have to try and make a little more sense."

"Your Manticore leash. When did you break yours?" he repeated. 

"I was about twelve. These kids from a school I went to for about five minutes dared me to break into the principal's house and-" Max giggled. "And put his toothbrush in toilet water, then replace it. Stupid, I know. I knew it then, too. The guy's wife was a cop. Breaking and entering. I knew what was tactically a better decision, but went against it. Almost got myself killed courtesy of the biggest dog I've ever seen, but felt great afterwards." She grinned at the memory. "Total disregard for rules, and using my training for trivial purposes. What about you?"

"The first time I deliberately disobeyed my CO." Max snickered. 

"You mean _outside of Manticore?" The two ex-soldiers laughed, remembering numerous practical jokes that Zack had been on the receiving end of in their early years together. _

"Yeah. The first time I deliberately disobeyed my CO _outside_ of Manticore. I was around sixteen, I suppose. I got a dog to commemorate the event."

"Tinga got married. Had a kid." Max said softly. "He's beautiful."

"Kia has friends." Zane replied, an involuntary smile coming to his face at the thought of his sister's friends. Of his sister's _friend._

"Jace has a baby." Max said. Zane smiled again, then looked sombre. 

"That's what happened to Ben, isn't it Max? He couldn't break his leash?" Max closed her eyes. 

"Something like that." She whispered. Again, the two soldiers stayed silent, both lost in thoughts of their brothers and sisters. 

"I don't know if I can like him." Zane broke the silence first.

"Alec?" Max asked, unable to think of who else Zane could be referring to. 

"Yeah." Zane said gruffly.

"Well I _know I can't like him." She giggled. _

"I'm serious, Max. He's so-" He broke off, unable to think of the right word. 

"Yes." Max agreed. 

"And so-" 

"Yes." She interrupted, knowing exactly what he meant. 

"And you know the biggest thing?"

"He's not Ben?" She said quietly. 

"Yes." 

The pair sat side by side a little away from the road each staring off into the distance. 

"Tell me about the Good Place, Maxie." Zane said in a low voice. Max felt the tears she had heard in Zane's voice well in her eyes and swallowed a lump in her throat. The X5 closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Where no one ever gets punished." She whispered, recalling and echoing Ben's words with a shiver. 

"And children are children." Zane said softly, putting a comforting arm around his sister. 

"And brothers and sisters live together." Max continued, stronger. 

"And no one disappears or dies." Zane sighed into the darkness, thinking of his lost brothers and sisters.  

"Or knows what reindoctrination means." Max agreed, her voice breaking. 

"We'll get her back, Maxie." He felt her nod in the darkness. 

"Tell me more about the Good Place, Zane." The commanding officer tightened his grip on his sister and they rocked lightly back and forth, hidden by the roadside, talking softly through the night. 


	11. Interlude

A/N: I'm sorry! I really am! But I swear I haven't abandoned this story. In fact, I only have about half a chapter to write, then there will be four chapters and an epilogue ready to post. There has been a huge delay though, and I apologise - RL in the way yet again. As always, thanks to my beta, Aimee.  
  
This is a brief interlude -Zane POV- to lighten things up a little. I originally wrote this as a chapter ending, but decided to save it for a rainy day (or a chapterless month - now months.) Enjoy.  
  
Interlude  
  
"Max thinks on top of the space needle. It's her high place. I can't imagine how she must have missed it at Manticore. I don't have a high place. I don't even believe in the Blue lady. That was Ben's thing, not mine. Ben. My brother. We were always inseparable back at Manticore. That's probably why Zack didn't pair us up for the escape. Or maybe it wasn't deliberate. There wasn't enough time for details like that. Not that it mattered anyway, he forced us all to separate right away. I suppose if we hadn't been so bewildered by our new lives we would have made an effort to devise some secret meeting place. But we didn't expect Zack to come back so soon. I miss him. I miss them. Zack, Ben, the others that I haven't seen in over ten years, I miss them all.  
  
"I can't make friends with someone who is the complete opposite of my brother, yet steals his face. I can't place Ben's seriousness on Alec's smart-ass expression, or rid my mind of the leering looks Alec gave my sister in order to imagine Ben's young serious eyes in this, which would have been his grown up face.  
  
"I never had a high place. My place is here, the open road, riding against the wind, feeling the cold wind slap at my face. This is where I do my best thinking, this is where I take my problems, this is where I am free. If Max or Ben hated leaving their high place, and returning to normal heights, then I hate arriving at my destination, beginning again, and leaving my thoughts on the road.  
  
"It's always been this way. No matter where Zack sent me, I'd choose the longest route, hating the thought of starting again, having nowhere to call home, no friends waiting for me at the end of my ride. Now I have family. Max is already bothering me to find out where Jondy is. Between the two of them they could run up quite a phone bill, talking all hours of the night with their uncanny ability to survive without sleep. I wonder if Jondy is still the same. I wonder if they all are; does Jai still talk in his sleep? Does Krit mumble away in Kjenyan, the complex babble he invented combining 6 languages? I wonder about them all. I want to know first. I'll give Max the excuse that I want to secure their locations, but I really want to see them, know them, remember them, before I give them to her.  
  
"I'm jealous. Jealous of Syl and Krit, who, according to Logan, have stayed in contact since Zack reunited them and now live within three blocks of each other. I'm jealous of Max for knowing the grown up Tinga and the non- Manticore Brin, and for meeting Syl and Krit again, even if only for a short time. And for knowing Ben. I'm even jealous of her for killing Ben, stupid as it sounds. She spent time with him. She defeated him, and she knew his deepest darkest secret before she ended his life. He trusted her enough to deliver him away from Manticore, which took so much strength. I love my little sister. I'm proud of her. But jealous. She's had a home to go to, friends to welcome her, for years.  
  
"But I have that too now. I can't stay jealous of Max. I envy what she's had, but I'm not without it any longer. I have a place to call, well, almost a place to call home, friends, a batman, and a sister to return to. And soon I'll have my dog. I have this, the open road, and a stolen motorcycle that's becoming a liability. I have another sister that I'm heading towards, and, well, whatever Brianna is to me. I never need to dread my destination. Because I'll always return home." 


	12. False Sense of Security

**Disclaimer:** I own the computer I'm writing on. Everything else belongs to someone else. Well, except for Kia, Brianna, the Phoenix school of Martial Arts, um, any other original characters or places, and Zane's stolen pick up truck. 

I'm not a poor struggling student anymore, but I am still poor and struggling, so don't sue!

**A/N:** Can you believe I've gotten this far? I really do apologise for the sporadic updates, but I swear that between hunting for a permanent job and working three part time ones, I'm really trying. Thanks again to Aimee, my wonderful (though sometimes invisible) beta, and thanks to Abregaza for constantly asking me how this story is going and pushing me to update faster. 

Not too much longer to go, people! I'll probably wrap this up somewhere around chapter 16. Thank you for reviewing!

**Chapter Eleven: False Sense of Security**

*** Phoenix School of Martial Arts, DAY ***

Arriving at his destination, Zane looked at the exterior to the building, replaying in his head his first visit to the centre. He turned off the ignition in the 'liberated' pick up truck that had replaced the 'liberated' motorcycle and climbed out, heading for the entrance of the school. 

The centre smelled like sweat and rubber soled shoes, and Zane could easily pick out both Kia and Brianna's scents. He smiled at the familiar feeling the place held, and turned to face the man approaching him. 

"Can I help you?" The man asked. 

"I'm looking for Br- for Kia." Zane said, stumbling over his words as he caught sight of Brianna talking to a student. 

"Kia?" The instructor asked, trying to catch Zane's eye, which was firmly fixed on the tall brunette. The X5 nodded. 

"She's not here." Zane's attention was immediately diverted from Brianna and devoted to the man in front of him. 

"Not here?" 

"Yeah, she's gone. Left yesterday. Left pretty quickly too. Cancelled her classes." Zane's face turned white, and the instructor looked concerned. "Hey, man, are you ok?" 

Zane nodded, his mind elsewhere. 

_Maintain control. Emotion is weakness. _

"Were you supposed to have a date or something? She'll probably be back in a few days. She runs off every once in a while." Zane's heart pumped loudly, and he looked at the instructor again. 

"How often?" He demanded. 

"I don't know. Whenever. Three or four times a year, maybe."

"For how long?" Zane continued to interrogate the instructor, who was growing uneasy. 

"Few days, sometimes longer. I really wouldn't worry. Maybe you should-" 

"Brianna here?" Zane stared in the direction she had last been, but she'd disappeared from his line of sight. The man looked at his watch. 

"Just started class. Under tens. Half an hour." He looked at the X5 with uncertainty, and Zane forced a smile. 

"No worries. I'll wait upstairs. I have a key." The man's expression softened in relief, and he turned and let Zane walk away. 

The X5 hurried to Kia's apartment, quickly picking the lock and hurrying inside. His senses were immediately on high alert. He surveyed the room, which looked like a fight had taken place. The table was overturned, and things were scattered everywhere. Someone had fought. And left in a hurry. Troubling Zane even more was the smell that lingered in the apartment. Something had happened. He had no idea what. Looking around again quickly for clues as to the state of the apartment and not finding any, Zane pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. 

"Yeah?" Logan's casual voice came over the line. 

"I need Max." Zane barked out, his voice barely recognisable. 

"Zane?" Logan asked, unable to read the tone of the X5's voice. 

"Yes." He said evenly, struggling to keep his emotions in check. 

"She's not here. She left the phone here."

"Where is she?" His voice was steady but his tone finally gave him away. 

"She's at work. Zane, what's the matter? What's wrong?" Logan explained in a concerned voice. 

"Something's wrong. I need to talk to her."

"What is it?" Zane hesitated at answering the question, looking around wildly. "Zane?" Logan prompted, and the X5 shifted uncomfortably. 

"It's Kia. She's not here. Left quickly, didn't check in. I need Max." He rushed out in a single breath, stepping into the hall with the phone clutched to his ear. 

"I'll try and get her at work. Are you at her apartment?"

"Yeah. There's something else." He hesitated. "I was just inside the apartment, and it was strange. It looked like a fight, but there was this smell. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I couldn't stay in there any longer. It was making me-," He paused. "Well-, I wanted to… I felt like…" Zane gave a frustrated sigh. On the other end of the phone, Logan made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. 

"Does she run off often?" The journalist asked, and Zane wondered if he'd actually heard a giggle at the other end of the line. 

"One of the other instructors said she does it a few times a year." He replied desperately. 

"A few times a year." Logan repeated. 

"Yes." He exclaimed in frustration and confusion. 

"And the apartment's trashed." 

"Kind of." 

"And there's a strange smell." Another noise, which definitely sounded like a snicker. 

"Yes." Exasperated, Zane held the phone more tightly. 

"That made you want to…" 

"Yes." Logan was clearly laughing, and Zane made a mental note to beat him to death with a blunt object upon their next meeting. 

"Zane." Logan gasped out. 

"What?" The X5 replied, clearly annoyed. 

"How much do you know about X5 females?" He managed to get the words out between fits of laughter. 

"I think we've clearly established that I know very little." Zane answered haughtily. 

"Well then how much do you know about the reproductive cycle of cats?"  

Zane finished straightening his sister's apartment, still shaking his head as the information Logan had told him set in. Satisfied that the smell of Kia's pheromones had been evicted from her apartment, he slammed the final window closed and flopped onto the sofa, closing his eyes lightly. 

"Heard you were in town." A voice came from the doorway. Zane's eyes flew open and he sprang from the sofa, spinning around. 

"A little edgy, are we?" Brianna raised her eyebrows and gave him a teasing smile.

"Brianna." 

"Dave said you were looking for me. Looking to get your ass kicked?" 

"As long as it's by you and not a class of under tens." Brianna's grin widened briefly before she replaced it with a look of mock-annoyance. 

"They would have enjoyed it so much." He grinned at her joke as she nodded to the door. "Up for a jog?" Zane looked at his watch. 

"How about dinner instead?"

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"I can't believe Zack never told him that. I'm so glad I didn't have to explain it." Max said with a groan after Logan finished his story of the events of the afternoon.  

"Consider yourself in my debt for fielding that one."

"I'll cook you dinner sometime."

"Like you have tonight?" He asked, eyes twinkling. 

"Taking it out of the box counts as cooking." Max replied, biting into her pizza. 

"Remind me to have a word to the good folks at Manticore." Logan teased. "They can create a mind-blowingly beautiful genetically superior soldier, but they can't program a couple of simple recipes? Very disappointing." 

"Mind-blowingly beautiful?" Max gave him a sexy smile and raised an eyebrow. Logan returned her smile with a suggestive one of his own, his pizza falling from his hand forgotten as he leaned in to meet her lips. He gave an annoyed grunt as the phone rang, and Max moved as if it answer it. 

"Leave it." Logan protested. 

"What happened to protecting the downtrodden and fighting the good fight?" Max asked in an innocent, yet somehow mocking voice. 

"I'm outside of office hours." He grinned as the answering machine picked up the call. 

_"__Logan__, I need to speak to you and Max regarding the briefcase." Sebastian's mechanically assisted voice came through the machine, and Max and Logan exchanged a quick look before moving to answer the call. __"Please call me as soon as you get this mes-" Logan cut off the machine as Max hit the speaker phone button. _

"We're here." Logan interrupted. 

"Max. Logan."

"Hi Sebastian." Max said eagerly. "What have you got for us?"

"Are you familiar with the concept of junk DNA?"

"My science is a little rusty."

*** Brianna's apartment, Phoenix school of Martial Arts, NIGHT ***

"Call this gourmet?"

"Cooking was never really big in my family. Having food that's not scorched or burnt beyond recognition immediately classifies it as gourmet." 

"Even if it comes from a box?" Brianna teased, taking another bite of her pizza slice. Zane smiled at her from his position on the floor and reached for his third slice.  

"Especially if it comes from a box. Bonus points for delivery." He grinned at her.

"Lack of cooking skills, absolutely no clue when it comes to fighting," She looked him up and down. "Or jogging. What exactly _do_ you have going for you?"

"My good looks and natural charm."

"No good looks or natural charm, an inflated ego…" Brianna kept ticking items off on her imaginary checklist, shaking her head in a teasing way. "I really think you're a waste of my time." She sighed loudly. "Too bad Kia's so keen on having you around." She punched him playfully and he caught her fist, slowly leaning closer to her. With a giggle, Brianna interrupted the moment. 

"You also have absolutely no subtlety. Give it a rest, Casanova." He grinned, and she raised one eyebrow in challenge, leaping over the pizza and jumping at him. Zane fell backwards to the floor with Brianna on top of him, rolling over so that their positions were reversed. They remained that way, staring at each other before she flipped him easily so that he lay below her once more, and giggled again. 

"Dinner's getting cold." She said in an innocent tone, climbing off him and retaking her place on the floor. Zane gazed at her in amazement, wondering if he'd ever understand women. 

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"So if the whole junk DNA thing's not possible, why am I wanted by so many white-coated lab geeks?" Max asked as Sebastian finished a lengthy explanation. 

 "My best guess is that the sample was contaminated. Perhaps your director got this idea in her head and some scientist that knew better was feeding her information to make her happy." Sebastian replied. Max frowned. 

"It's not like Manticore not to know their science. There's also some kind of bounty hunter that is convinced I'm the chosen one." Logan shot her a worried look.

"I can arrange some testing right away." Sebastian suggested, and Max screwed up her nose. 

"You said it wasn't possible." She argued softly. 

"It isn't. I'm not sure what they're looking for, Max. The tests would be a good idea. If there's something there, we'll find it." 

"Ahh, tests. Now there's a word that takes me back to my happy little childhood." She exchanged a quick look with Logan and nodded. 

"We'll be there tomorrow." Logan said, ending the call. 

The pair sat down again, the pizza and earlier, happier moods forgotten. 

"Bounty hunter?" Logan asked in his most concerned tone. 

"Can we change the subject please? Haven't you got some widows that need saving or something?" She half pleaded, half teased Logan, and he gave her a reassuring smile. 

"Actually, now that you mention it, I need your help. A little recon." Max smiled at the change of subject.

"What've we got?" She asked, rubbing her hands together. 

"Guy running an underage prostitution ring out of Seattle. I'm pretty sure he's linked with a kidnapping story I've been following." Max sighed, locating the pizza box and attacking another slice. 

"Lovely. Why is it that more and more of these guys keep springing up whenever you shoot one down?" 

*** Sacramento, DAY ***

"How often do you manage to drag Kia on one of these jogs?"

"Rarely, if ever. That girl could sleep through anything." Brianna replied. Zane laughed, recalling the many mornings he'd pulled her unceremoniously out of bed at Manticore.

"Definitely." He agreed. 

"Did you two have lots of sleep-overs when you were young?" Brianna asked innocently. 

"Oh. Yeah, kind of." Zane mumbled, remembering the lie and feeling uncomfortable. 

"Must've been nice." Brianna said, noting the stumble and choosing to temporarily ignore it.

"There he is!" Zane exclaimed, pointing out the lawyer in the alley. The pair stretched, sneaking looks at the morning do-gooder. 

"Like clockwork." Brianna whispered, checking her watch. 

"You think that makes it even?" Zane asked softly, not taking his eyes off the lawyer. 

"Makes what even?" She asked, pulling her hands above her head in a stretch. 

"What he does in the mornings. Does that balance out what he does for the rest of the day?" Zane asked softly. 

"I don't understand what you mean." Brianna frowned. 

"I mean, he's a victim of circumstance, right? He's a good lawyer. He gets the bad guys off. But he feels guilty. Probably. So it's a thing he's good at instead of something he really wants to do.  With the economy the way it is, you gotta take what you can get. He does it because it brings in the money. He's a bad guy by circumstance." He explained. Brianna shook her head. 

"Still makes him a bad guy." Zane raised his eyebrows. "Guilty conscience. There's good in everyone. It's just that some people choose to hide theirs. Or ignore it." He nodded a little, understanding what she was saying but not ready to accept it. He stared at the lawyer again. 

"Can you be a good person but still have done bad things?" He asked her, studying her face. 

"Have _done_ bad things, or _do_ bad things?" 

"I don't know. Have done bad things." Brianna's face fell for a minute, revealing a mask of hate and something Zane couldn't identify. He frowned, cataloguing the expression for later. 

"It depends on what the bad things are." She answered finally, in a quiet voice. 

"Say a soldier, bred for fighting and killing and destruction. Say the soldier killed people. And say the soldier didn't like doing it, so he left." 

"Sounds like the soldier chose to be a good person." Brianna concluded, turning to watch Zane instead of the lawyer. 

"But say the soldier didn't know anything else. That all he knows is killing. And that he keeps on doing it, because it's in his nature. Can he still be a good person?" Zane focussed hard on his stretching, looking at the ground. 

"Are you talking about your father?" Brianna asked gently. 

"My brother." He said quietly, trying desperately to recall if the honest answer was infringing on his earlier lies.

"Then I think only you can answer that. You know if he was a good person." 

"But that's the thing. I don't." He looked up as the lawyer left the alley and re-entered his house. Zane sank into the bench he had been stretching his leg on. 

"Say there was another soldier. And that soldier left for the same reason. Because he didn't like doing it." Zane said after a few minutes of silence. 

"Yes." Brianna prompted, sitting down beside the X5. 

"But then there were some times when he had to do it again. When bad circumstances stopped him from being a good person. When he had to kill again, or hurt people. Is he still a good person?" Zane held his breath, not daring to touch Brianna. 

"I suppose you're right. Sometimes circumstances can stop you from being the good person that you are. But that doesn't make you a bad person." She said by way of answer, watching as the lawyer left his building and set off for work. Zane put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, relieved. 

"We should get back. You have classes." He leaned in and kissed her gently. 

"Maybe I could skip my first few classes." She grinned suggestively. 

"Now would that make you a bad person?" He joked, trying to make light of their heavy conversation.

"A very very bad person." She purred. "Race ya."

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

Max pulled her headphones off her head and lowered the book she was reading. "It's no good pacing." She told Logan. "He'll call when the results come through. Find something to do already. You'll wear out the exoskeleton." She warned him before turning back to her book.

"It's just that we've had enough to deal with concerning Manticore. We don't need a reason for some bounty hunter to target you too." Again, Max lowered her book and sighed. 

"He's already targeting me. The guy's a loon. I don't know if he's military or Manticore or what. I can deal with him." She patted the empty space beside her on the sofa. 

"He put you in a cage." Logan reminded her.

"And I got out." She smiled sweetly, trying to make light of the subject. 

"With Zane's help. Maybe we should call him." He suggested. 

"Zane or Sebastian?" Max asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Both!" He exclaimed, sinking into the sofa when she laughed. 

"We can't call Sebastian, he'll call us when the results are in. And Zane already knows what's going on with White." She reminded him gently. 

"White?"

"Bounty hunter or whatever he is. Haven't you got a kidnapping case to work on?"

"I'm worried." He said with a sigh. 

"Shinpai shinai de kudasai." Max said softly, leaning over to kiss his forehead. He gave her a curious look. "It's Japanese. Please do not worry." She translated, and he smiled, leaning forward to return her kiss. 

"I thought Kendra never taught you Japanese," Logan grinned.

"She didn't. I thought my incredible progress would be too hard to explain."

"So since when do you speak Japanese?" With a knowing look, Max took her headphones and placed them on Logan's head, then held up the battered book she was reading. 

_Let's Learn Japanese! Volume six_

"Since about three a.m." She replied with a smile. 

*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***

Zane rolled over in the bed, immediately noting the absence of Brianna, and checked the clock on the wall with a sigh. He lay awake, his eyes closed, taking in his surroundings. 

With a start, Zane focussed his energy on the new presence in the room. He opened his eyes slowly, preparing himself for a fight. 

"Been busy?" His sister's voice came from the doorway. 

"Kia!" Zane exclaimed at the sight of her, sitting up in the bed. He took on a stern tone. "Can you possibly imagine how concerned I was for your safety?"

"You look like you've been worried out of your mind." She replied with a sarcastic smile, and he pulled the bed sheet closer around him. 

"Why didn't you check in?" He demanded. 

"I wasn't expecting you to drop by again. _Zack never dropped by twice in the same fortnight." She teased._

"Well I'm not Zack." She dropped the sarcasm at the sight of his angry glare, and took a defensive stance. 

"What was I supposed to say? 'Sorry Zane, I have to get away. I'm going through my heat cycle and I've started destroying my house in a futile attempt to stifle the feeling of wanting to sleep with any male within a ten mile radius?' It's not something I'm proud of." She paused. "You know about heat cycles, right?"

"Got a crash course over the last few days." Zane sighed. 

"I should have called, but I missed the warning signs. I barely had time to call J- to call my boyfriend before it got too bad. We left right away." Kia finished, and Zane sighed again. 

"It's over?" He asked, pulling the bed sheet even closer. 

"Yeah." Kia replied, looking at the floor. 

"Next time-"

"I know." She cut him off, her eyes still on the floor. 

"It's good to see you." The CO said gently. 

"Yeah, you too." Kia replied, lifting her eyes to his. "Is everything okay? You left really quickly. I was worried."

"Everything is fine." He paused for dramatic effect. "Max is alive."

"Really? That's amazing! I can't- wow! Can I see her? Can I talk to her?" Zane smiled at the excitement Kia was unable to keep out of her voice. 

"Not just yet. Soon. I promise." He smiled, then looked her in the eye. "I was worried, Kia. I'm glad you're alright." He said softly, and she nodded. 

"Um, Zane?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Can we talk about you being in my best friend's bed?"

*** Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"So I'm normal?" Max asked, calling into the speaker phone from across the room. 

"As normal as a transgenic can be. The original results were probably contaminated or doctored." Sebastian's voice came through the phone. 

"Thanks Sebastian" Logan said warmly, "How's the rest of the briefcase coming?" 

"I've decoded some of the information, but it's a little puzzling. I'll let you know when I have something concrete."

"Thanks." He pressed the button to end the call and turned to look at Max. 

"So I'm not the messiah. I was really looking forward to seeing where that would take me." Max turned from her position at the window and grinned at Logan.

"You know, I almost feel sorry for her." She said softly. Logan raised his eyebrows. "I said almost." She continued. "I mean, she sacrificed herself for me because she believed in something. Bet she's rolling in her grave now that 'something' was actually caused by an idiot lab tech dropping his jelly donut in the sample." Logan gave her a half smile, then frowned. 

"You'd think Manticore would have tested it more thoroughly." He muttered thoughtfully. 

"You can bet I would have been given lab rat status if I'd stuck around any longer." She shrugged dismissively. "So tell me about these kidnappers."

*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***

"Leaving?" Kia demanded from the doorway, watching Zane throwing his things together.  "You've only been here a week."

"Yeah, I'd best be going." He said softly. "It's actually longer than a week. I was here for a few days before you came back. I'm behind schedule. I'm off on a whirlwind tour of our missing brothers and sisters." Zane smiled at her disappointed expression, and the eager look that followed. 

"When can I see them?" She asked in an almost pleading tone. 

"Soon." Zane said lightly. "There's still the matter of the X5 _you're keeping hidden from __me."_

"Soon." She answered with a teasing grin. The pair punched fists, and then met in a quick hug. 

"Take care, big brother." 

"Call me if you have any problems." He replied. "And-"

"Be careful." Kia interrupted, finishing his sentence. "Yes _Zack_." He swatted at her good naturedly, and she laughed and closed the door. Zane took a deep breath and turned, facing the door across the hall. 

***Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"Max, if that's true, then this thing runs a lot deeper than I ever could have thought." Logan said, rubbing ointment into a long cut on her arm. 

"How far are we talking?" She asked, picking a twig out of her hair. 

"Probably half of the police department." He groaned. "This is going to take some time. You up for a lengthy set of reconnaissance missions?"

"How long?" She asked. Logan looked in the direction of his computer room, then at the ceiling, and finally back to her. 

"To crack this case open it's going to take about two weeks." Max nodded, grinning at the challenge. 

"I'm going to need a doctor's note."

*** Phoenix school of Martial Arts, DAY ***

Zane stood in front of Brianna, almost shyly, having already explained his reasons for leaving, and preparing for goodbye. 

"This is my number in Seattle." He said, handing her a small piece of paper. She turned it over in her hands. 

"This is the only way to contact you?" She asked dubiously. 

"I'm not really at a fixed address yet. Call the number." 

"And if I want to see you?" She asked coolly, with a hint of something else in her voice. Zane hesitated over whether to give her the address for Eyes Only or his genetically engineered sister. 

"Jam Pony. Seattle. Original Cindy. Ask her to take you to Max." Frowning slightly, Brianna nodded. "I'll see you soon." He promised. 

"Maybe." Brianna replied, walking back into her apartment, leaving Zane staring after her. 

"I will never understand her." Zane mumbled under his breath before turning to leave the building. 


	13. Cat outta the bag

**Disclaimer: **Still not mine. Still making no money.

**A/N: **Yep, a nice, quick, follow up post! I've been possessed! There's another chapter waiting in the wings, but I don't want to post yet, in case everyone hates where I'm going and I have to rewrite. So let me know! Many thanks to all the usual people. You know who you are. J****

**Chapter 13 – Cat Outta the Bag**

***** Two weeks later *****

*** Seattle, DAY ***

Zane drove his stolen pickup into sector nine; mentally thanking Logan for the sector pass that had magically waved him through the checkpoints without trouble. He smiled, thinking of his two week trip he had taken to reunite himself with the other X5 rogues, and each and every one of their expressions when they figured out who he was. Except for Syl's. He was still angry at Krit for ruining that surprise. The pair lived within walking distance of each other, and he envied their closeness. Syl even shared her apartment with Krit's girlfriend, and the siblings had seen each other almost every day since Zack had reunited them to save Max. Naturally, Krit had ruined Zane's surprise by taking a short cut to his sister's apartment and given her the heads up. The pair had thought it hilarious. No matter, he'd just have to spring a different sibling on Syl to get the desired reaction from her. He grinned at the thought, then at the sight of Fogle Towers coming into view. 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

_"…With the help of the __Seattle__ police department, these criminals have been put behind bars, and the girls returned to their homes. Seven police officers have been removed from the force and jailed following news of their involvement in the case.  _

_The man on your screen is the current chief of police in the __Seattle__ area, Chief Brendan Mackenzie. Chief Mackenzie is also the man responsible for arranging to have these girls kidnapped from their homes and sold to the highest bidder. Chief Mackenzie, you will be stopped. The people of __Seattle__ will not tolerate your corrupt actions in their city. This has been a Streaming Freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out." _

"The man sure knows how to get a city's attention." Zane said from underneath the skylight of Logan's apartment. "Can you cook as well as you broadcast, Cale?" He finished with a smile.

"Zane!" Max exclaimed, rushing over from her position behind Logan. Logan turned his wheelchair and wheeled over to the X5s. 

"Hey." He said with a grin, looking up at his skylight. "I really should keep that thing locked." 

"You could try." Zane grinned back. "How'd you go with dog-proofing the apartment?" He looked around with interest. As if on cue, a whine came from outside the penthouse. 

"You didn't." Logan warned. Zane nodded happily. 

"It's ok, we'll go straight there." Max soothed, placing her hand on Logan's shoulder. 

"Straight where?" 

"Straight to your new apartment." Max said proudly. 

"I have a new apartment?" Zane asked happily. 

"And a potential job. The guy wants to give you a kind of audition. Logan checked him out. Seems ok." 

"Maybe I should go away more often." Zane said, walking over to the door and pulling it open. He held out his hand to the German Shepherd on the other side of the door, and got a lick in response. He smiled and crouched down, scratching the dog behind the ears. With a few low words, he stood, the dog remaining by his side. 

"This is Jet." Zane said with pride, smiling from the dog to Max and Logan. 

"This is not staying in my apartment." Logan answered. 

"Just for lunch. Then we'll leave." Jet sniffed at Max with interest, and then padded further into the apartment before settling at Zane's feet. 

"Isn't he great? He's really gentle. Protective too."

"Great." Max said edgily, taking an extra step away from the dog.

"Fantastic." Logan agreed, moving into the kitchen without a second glance at the animal.  

*** Jam Pony, DAY ***

Brianna stood at the entrance to the messenger service, taking deep breaths and looking around nervously. A bike messenger came toward her and she took a step forward to ask him a question, while the other messengers watched from across the room. 

"Knock it off, fool. That girl has too much class to even inhabit the same space as you." Original Cindy slapped Sketchy lightly, temporarily distracting his attention from the woman in the doorway. He looked at her, shrugged, and looked back at Brianna. 

"Am I the only one that works around here? Bip bip bip!" Normal's voice floated into their space, and Original Cindy sighed. 

"One day that man's gonna bip himself to death. Original Cindy just hopes she's long gone by then." The two of them watched in surprise as the girl asked a messenger something and was pointed in the direction where they were standing. Sketchy cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair in preparation for her arrival. OC rolled her eyes. 

"I'm looking for Original Cindy." Brianna said in a clear and steady voice, focussing on the pair in front of her. "Is that you?" She inquired politely, turning to Original Cindy. 

"You in luck, sugah. Original Cindy at your service."

"Hey missy, may I remind you that you're at _my_ service right now?" Normal's drone came at her from behind.

"No you may not." OC answered with her usual attitude. She turned her attention back to Brianna. 

"I'm actually looking for Max." Brianna elaborated, looking from Original Cindy to Normal and then to Sketchy. 

"Don't even get me started on that one." Normal turned to Original Cindy. "Tell your friend that if she's not in tomorrow she's fired. Doctor's note or not."

"Normal, be fair!" Sketchy protested, apparently having decided that his chances with Brianna were too small to concern himself with, and choosing to pester Normal instead. "Max is recovering from _major_ surgery." He reminded him in an annoying tone, chasing him around the building. Original Cindy watched them for a minute, shaking her head. 

"Fools." She turned her attention back to Brianna. "So you looking for Max?"

"Actually, I'm looking for Zane." Brianna explained. A look of understanding crossed the messenger's face. 

"Say no more, sugah, Original Cindy's all up on the black helicopter dealio." She said knowingly. 

"Uh-" Brianna replied with a blank look that OC wrote off as an act. 

"No matter, Original Cindy won't tell. Secret's safe. I'll take you to Max. She should be able to point you in the direction of Zane." Brianna brightened at the promise of finding Zane and tried to cover her confused expression with a knowing one. Original Cindy looked around to make sure they were out of earshot before continuing. "Original Cindy will say one thing for the black helicopter guys though. When they created you in that lab, they sure as hell knew what they were doing. What's your name, sugah?"

"Brianna." She answered quietly, unsure of exactly what was going on. 

"Little longer than the rest. Thought Manticore had a thing for short names."

"Short names?" She asked weakly, following Original Cindy as she pushed her bike along. 

"You know. Max, Zane, Sam. Wait, Zack, not Sam. Original Cindy has met quite a few of your little family." 

"Family." Brianna repeated, hurrying to fall into step with her guide, her head furiously trying to process the information Original Cindy was feeding her. 

*** Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"So you avoided all fights with the female gender this time around?" Max teased from her position on the sofa. 

"And made a quick cross country journey to check in on some siblings." Zane grinned at her evilly. "Jondy says hi."

"Zane!" Max exclaimed, throwing the first thing she could get her hands on, which, luckily for Zane, was a throw cushion. At the sudden attack, the German Shepherd leapt from the floor and began a frenzied barking assault at Max, with a few growls thrown in for good measure. Teeth bared, the dog awaited a command from his master. 

"Down, Jet." Zane said simply, and the dog returned to its previous state, lying faithfully at his feet. 

"Some dog you've got there." Max commented dryly. 

"I have a way with animals." He shrugged. "Tell me about the latest world saving mission."

"Zack said that thing was sweet." Max persisted, not breaking eye contact with the dog. 

"_Zack_ said that?" Zane said incredulously. "Zack always hated Jet. Poor thing loved Zack though. Ignored me completely whenever he was around." Zane smiled briefly at the memory, and of Zack's apparent annoyance whenever he turned around to find the dog at his feet yet again. 

"He kept a lot of himself hidden from me." He said softly. 

"He kept a lot of himself hidden from everyone." Max corrected. Zane nodded, and scratched Jet behind the ears again, staring off into space. 

"What's going on with this roommate of Kia's?" Max said brightly, doing her best to change the subject. 

"Nothing. I haven't spoken to her since I left Kia's, and that was over two weeks ago." Zane replied, his head down. 

"Zane, you're a terrible liar."

"What makes you think I'm lying?" He stammered in surprise, wondering just how Max could be so good at reading him after knowing him for so short a time. 

"The blush spreading over your face, for starters. Ooh, Zane and Brianna, sitting-" Max got cut off as the throw pillow slammed into her face. 

*** Fogle Towers, Exterior, DAY ***

"Well, here we are. You want the top floor. Penthouse." The messenger said as they arrived outside the apartment complex. "Actually, I might come along, see what's up on the Cale lunch menu today. Boy sure can make a mean meal." Head spinning, Brianna trailed behind, following Original Cindy into the elevator to the penthouse. 

  
*** Logan's Penthouse, Fogle Towers, DAY ***

"So there I am, dangling above the head of this police officer for over half an hour, and he actually-" Max froze at the sound of the elevator door opening. Logan approached the door to the apartment, exoskeleton whirring, and pulled it open. Max's face relaxed at the sight of Original Cindy, and she took another bite of her sandwich. Zane followed her gaze, stopping mid-mouthful as the messenger walked forward and revealed the person standing beside her. 

"Jam Pony messenger! I'm delivering another member of your happy family I found wandering around. I'm gonna need a signature!" Original Cindy joked, looking around with a smile. "Getting to be transgenic central in here." Max studied Original Cindy's companion eagerly, looking for something familiar in her features. Zane swallowed and stood up, his face pale, eyes fixed firmly on their newest guest. 

"Brianna." He whispered. Max jumped up, looking from Zane to Original Cindy and to Brianna, not quite sure of what else to do. Original Cindy was looking from one X5 to the other with uncertainty. 

"What did you tell her?" He demanded, directing the question at Original Cindy, but not taking his eyes off Brianna. 

"I-" Zane ignored her, instead crossing the room in two steps in order to block Brianna from the elevator. 

"Brianna." He addressed her quietly. "We should talk." She looked at him briefly, and then tried to dodge him to find an escape route. He took hold of her by the shoulders and caught her eyes. "Privately." Her hand flew, and he didn't try to stop it from slapping his face. He noticed Logan flinch behind him. 

"I came here to tell you that Kia's been kidnapped." Brianna muttered, her voice cold. "Just what the hell are you people?" 


	14. Always as they seem?

A/N: Yeah, so I said that I wasn't using any more of season two. And I thought I wouldn't. Hadn't planned to. But hey, the opportunity presented itself. Please note that this is an AU, and White is not working for the same agency etc. that he was in the season, and this storyline belongs to me. 

Everyone seems to like where this is going, so I've posted another chapter, nice and quick. Try not to die of shock. ;)

Thanks, as usual to the people that push me into producing more chapters- Abregaza (who named the last chapter, thanks!) and my beta, Aimee. 

Chapter Twelve – Always as they seem?

*** Logan's Penthouse, Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"I can't believe you knocked her out!" Zane exclaimed, leaning over Brianna in concern.  

"What else was I supposed to do? She was screaming." Max replied with a shrug. 

"You didn't have to punch her." Zane said fiercely, straightening up to his full height and glaring down at his sister. 

"We don't need a hysterical female drawing attention to this place." Max replied flippantly.  

"What's she gonna think when she wakes up?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something." She replied in a patronising voice, patting him condescendingly on the shoulder. He shrugged her hand off angrily, and spun around before commencing to pace the length of the room. 

"How are we going to know about Kia?" He shouted, and Max again shrugged her shoulders.  

"She won't be out for long. Couple of minutes." Logan and Original Cindy looked from one X5 to the other, watching the siblings argue, and both felt the temperature in the room drop as Zane fixed an icy glare on Max. 

"In there, now." Zane growled, pointing to Logan's bedroom.

"That sounds like an order Zane." Max said sarcastically as Logan suppressed a shiver at the all too familiar 'evil Zane' voice. "Now!" He demanded, storming into the room without checking to see that she'd followed. Original Cindy and Logan exchanged a glance as the door slammed shut behind Max. 

"What was that all about? I told you you're not my CO, Zane. You have no control over me!" Max demanded angrily.

"Our sister's been taken Max, and now your _friend has put us both in danger!" Zane replied in a harsh tone. _

"Leave Original Cindy out of this." 

"She's a liability. She's compromised us both." He growled.

"You were the one that told a total stranger to track her down!" Max accused, forming a defensive stance. 

"Brianna's not a total stranger. And what were my alternatives? Give her this address? Yours?" 

"You've known her five minutes. Just because you slept with her doesn't mean you can trust her." Max retorted, putting her hands on her hips and adopting her best glare.  

"Kia trusts her." The commanding officer stated simply, arms folded. 

"Then why does the news of Manticore come as such a big surprise?" Both of the X5s glared angrily at the door as a gentle rapping came from the other side of it. 

"Max, Zane. She's waking up." Logan called in a soft voice. Zane turned to the door. 

"This is not over." He said coldly without turning around. 

"Oh you bet it's not." Max replied as she stormed out of the room after him. 

Max and Zane carried Brianna to Logan's bedroom, depositing her on the bed and glaring at one another. Zane pushed his curious dog out of the way and ordered him out of the room. Without a word to Zane, Max turned and also left the bedroom, slamming the door behind her on the way. 

At the sound, Brianna opened her eyes and blinked, disoriented. She pulled herself up onto her elbows and noticed Zane, a smile forming on her face before she remembered the events of only minutes before. She scrambled into a sitting position and pushed herself backwards, increasing the distance between herself and the X5. 

"Brianna-" Zane began. 

"Get the hell away from me!" She spat, edging away even further. 

"Brianna, you need to calm down."

"I need to calm down? To calm down? I just found out that I slept with- Just what the hell did I sleep with anyway? You were created in a lab? Tell me what's going on!" She locked her gaze on his, not daring to look away, but terrified.

"There isn't time. I need to know what happened to Kia." He ordered in a gentle but firm voice.

"No. I want to know now. What are you?" She answered defiantly, not moving.

"I'm part of a secret government project that genetically engineered soldiers by splicing together human and animal DNA." An uncomfortable silence claimed the room as the pair sat in absolute quiet, Brianna absorbing the information Zane had just inundated her with. The X5 waited awkwardly, counting the milliseconds of silence in his head and studying Brianna's face. 

"A soldier." She repeated, her voice thick with disgust. 

"_Ex_-soldier." Zane corrected. "My unit escaped in '09. Been on the run ever since."

"The soldier you were talking about. Last time you visited. That was…"

"My brother Ben." He answered softly. 

"The other one..?" She prompted, eyes closed.

"Was me." 

"You've killed people." Brianna whispered. 

"Yes." He took a step closer. "But I-"

"Don't come anywhere near me! You're a killer!" Zane sighed and backed up. Brianna was rubbing at her head. "You knocked me out." She accused, her eyes flashing.

"Actually, that was Max. I'm sorry about that. I've spoken to her-"

"Spoken to her? What are you, their leader?" Brianna interrupted angrily. 

"Pretty much. I've been their CO since our brother Zack disap-"

"You told Kia to lie to me about how she knew you." She realised, not waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"That was her decision." Brianna glared at him.

"You can't have been a very good soldier. I fought you. Beat you." She smirked, then frowned. "You let me win."

"I was injured. But I wasn't about to beat you up with a room full of witnesses." She shook her head, her face a mix of confusion and anger. 

"What kind of animal are you?" She asked distastefully. Zane looked at the ceiling. 

"A bit of everything. Cat, mostly." He replied honestly. 

"You're a cat." She repeated in a high pitched voice.

"Parts of me are."

"You're a cat soldier." She laughed nervously. "I slept with a genetically engineered cat soldier." She sounded slightly hysterical, and Zane decided to end the 'question the freak' part of the conversation.

"Tell me what happened to Kia." He said softly. Brianna's features clouded. 

"They came in and they took her." She answered warily, not taking her eyes off him. 

"They?" Zane asked. 

"I didn't see them, not right away. Not until they'd left. She was talking to her boyfriend at the time. On the phone. He arrived straight away. He was the one that told me to come to you," she answered in short, stilted sentences that gave away her fear. 

"Jai." Zane whispered, voicing a long-held suspicion. 

"Yeah, Jai." Brianna confirmed. 

"Tell me exactly what he said. What Jai said." Zane ordered quietly. 

"He burst in, looked around and picked up this little business card. Then he grabbed me, and he said 'do you know how to find Zane?' and I told him about the number." Zane immediately pulled the phone out of his pocket. There were no new messages. Brianna shook her head. 

"He told me not to call it, just to come straight here. He told me to tell you that- Oh my god. Jai's one too, isn't he?"

"Jai's one what?" Zane asked, somewhat annoyed at her tone.

"One of you. Oh my god, I wonder if Kia knows." Zane raised his eyebrows. 

"Kia too. Of course. Army bases. I'm an idiot." 

"You're not an idiot." He stepped forward and reached out to lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

"Don't touch me!" "I don't want you touching me!" 

He took a deep breath. 

"Tell me what Jai told you." The X5 commanded softly.

"He said they want 452. The business card just said 452. He said he'd track them, but that he'd probably need your help. He didn't want me to call the police."

"You can't go back there." Zane told her gently.

"I'm not staying here." She stuttered, looking around the room wildly and edging backwards.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He continued.

"I don't care." She insisted, curling up tightly.

"We need your help to find Kia." Zane tried. Brianna took a deep breath and sighed. 

"Fine. But I want you to know something. When this is over, I don't want anything to do with you or your freak show family. My life was fine until you waltzed in and claimed my best friend as a member of your genetically superior army. As far as I'm concerned, you should never have existed." She climbed off the bed as Zane sank onto it, sitting still without moving. Brianna paused at the doorway, turning to look back at him briefly before leaving the room. 

"I only hope you can leave as quickly as you came." 

Pushing the sting of Brianna's words away,

_Phoney sentimentality_

Zane walked out of Logan's bedroom and joined the others, his eyes quickly scanning the room. Original Cindy had left, which was probably the best thing she could have done, given the CO's mood. Brianna sat glued to the sofa, avoiding making eye contact with anyone, but following Zane's order to stay in the apartment. 

Max turned to face her brother, still angry, and raised her eyebrows in anticipation. 

"Kidnapped. Military." Zane said shortly, his face expressionless.

"And?" She prompted. 

"And Jai's gone after her. They're together." He finished in a low voice.

"They've both been kidnapped?" Max asked with wide eyes.

"No. Jai's chasing after his girlfriend." 

"His girlfriend's been kidnapped too?" She asked incredulously. 

"Max, would you listen? Jai's gone after his girlfriend. Kia is his girlfriend." Zane said with an exasperated sigh. Max's jaw dropped and her eyebrows shot up. 

"That's sick! They're brother and sister!" She exclaimed, horrified. 

"Not really, Max. They're not blood related." Max stared at him, shaking her head. 

"Whatever. It's sick." She muttered. "He's going to get himself killed. We have to move. Logan!" She called, looking over at the computers. 

"Correction Max. I've gotta move. You have to stay here." Zane replied in a firm voice.

"You fall on your head recently, or is your ego even bigger than Zack's?" In answer to her earlier call, Logan wheeled over to where the pair were arguing and placed a soothing hand on Max's arm. 

"This is about you Max. They're after you, and I'm not giving you to them." Zane said in a gentler tone. 

"This is my sister we're talking about. We've come up against this guy before." She insisted, shrugging Logan's hand off her.

"How can you be so sure it's White?" Zane replied, checking quickly to make sure Brianna was still safely in the apartment.

"They're after me. Not you, not the unit. You were the 2IC, with Zack gone, Manticore would target you. It has to be White." Max rationalised.

"You're not going." Zane insisted, though in a less determined tone than he'd previously possessed. 

"You're not stopping me. I'm not losing another sibling, Zane."

"How are we going to find them?" Max asked, pausing in her frantic pacing of the apartment.

"The trail would be cold by now. Jai's on his way." Zane replied, he too pausing from pacing. 

"But how do _we_ find her?" Max questioned, frustrated.

"We need to access hoverdrone footage." Zane responded, continuing to pace, this time in Logan's direction. Logan turned around to face the computers, dizzy from following the actions of the pacing X5s. 

"I've got the when, just give me the where." The journalist said, waiting for more information. 

"Sacramento." Zane mumbled.

"You sure?" Max asked, studying Zane's face as Logan typed furiously. 

"Why?" He shot her a glare at the question, remembering their earlier argument. 

"The look you just gave when you said Sacramento." She replied, remembering to hold her own angry expression. 

"Just annoyed at the compromise in location." Zane muttered, and Max rolled her eyes and screwed up her face. 

"I can't believe you. You get more like Zack every day." 

"And you're the most stubborn and-"

"Could you two…" Logan began loudly, turning to face the transgenics, and immediately regretting his words at the sight of their stony expressions. "Please let me work on this alone for a few minutes?" he finished in a quieter voice. 

Max looked over at Zane's back, which was planted in _her favourite spot, by the window. She sighed, swallowing her pride, and walked up behind him. _

"You can't blame yourself for this." She said softly. He turned to face her, shaking his head.

"It's my fault." 

"Zane…" Max protested.

"I visited her twice in the same week. That's a little strange. Zack never would have done that." Zane continued to stare out into Seattle, avoiding looking at his sister.

"You're not Zack." She reminded him gently. "That's a good thing."

"I led them to her." Zane replied, fists clenched.

"Remember the price tags, Zane? They're selling transgenics. To the highest bidder. People would trade in their own mothers if they had barcodes. It's all about money. Kia had a high profile, running a school. Anyone could have led White to her." She threw an accusatory look at Brianna. 

"Price tags?" Brianna asked in a small voice from her position on the sofa.

"People'll pay a lot of money to get their hands on Manticore technology." Max replied, her eyes not leaving Zane's face. 

"Oh." Brianna said softly, eyes fixed on the pair of X5s.

Zane turned from the window and sat on the floor near Brianna, careful not to get too close to her. He looked up at Max, who had followed him half way across the room. 

"Why do they want you? Is it this junk-free deal?" He asked, lifting his head to look at Max and suddenly realising how tired he was.

"Not sure. Probably. But it's bogus. Sebastian says it's all some crap a scientist made up to string the director along."

"How is that possible?" Zane asked, stifling a yawn.

"We still don't know." Max answered with a quick glance at Logan.

"So they're chasing you, but what they're looking for doesn't exist?" Zane leapt to his feet from his sitting position, a trick which may have impressed Brianna had she not been so terrified of him, and resumed pacing.

"Yeah." Max nodded and shrugged her shoulders.

"And now they have Kia as bait." The pair locked gazes, each softening at the other's expression. Zane drew Max into a hug, resting his chin on top of her head.  

"We'll get through this, little sister." He whispered, unable to think of anything else to say.  

"There's nothing out of the ordinary that day in the area you pointed out." Logan's voice called. 

"There has to be something. A full military convoy could not escape every hoverdrone in Sacramento." Zane called back.

"They don't have as many hoverdrones as we do here in Seattle. It's a much nicer place to- Bingo." The X5 entered the room and stood behind Logan.

"A nicer place to bingo?" Zane quipped before remembering the seriousness of the situation and replacing his smile with a stoic expression. "What have you got?" 

"Some hoverdrone footage has been removed from the archive." 

"Are we talking legally?" Max cut in. Logan's fingers flew over the computer keys as he tried to find an answer to her question. 

"Yes." Logan replied, disappointed. "The footage was requested by the owner of a chain of shopping centres. He opened a new one in Sacramento around the same time that Kia was taken." He sighed. "Looks like a legitimate reason. Wanted another ceremony tape to add to his collection." 

"No." Brianna's voice floated over from the sofa. 

"No what?" Logan asked in surprise. 

"No he didn't open that shopping centre the same day as Kia got taken. It was the day before. I know, because half of my class was missing that day so they could play on the jumping castle." Zane and Max exchanged a quick glance.

"So what then? Kia was taken by a shopping centre guy? The shopping centre guy has the footage? What?" Zane exclaimed in frustration. He paced around the apartment furiously while Brianna watched quietly and Logan continued to search for information, with Max looking on.

"Think!" Zane ordered himself, stopping in front of the window and staring out into the night. "Shopping centre. He couldn't know for sure that we'd find it. But he's gotta figure that we know Eyes Only, thanks to the broadcast. He doesn't know about Jai, so if he wants Max, he must have left clues for us to find him. And Kia." He muttered to himself in a low voice. "Damn it!" He exclaimed. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"We'll figure it out, Zane." Logan soothed, his eyes not leaving the screen. "We always do."  

While Logan typed, trying to find a connection between the shopping centre and Kia, or any other leads, Zane continued to pace around the apartment. "Max, we can't ignore the fact that it may have been Zack that was compromised." He called, stopping suddenly to voice the thought that had been clouding his mind.

"Yes we can." She replied firmly.

"No we can't, as much as we want to. They took him alive, they would have tried to get the information out of him. You didn't see him at Manticore, he was probably in psy-ops or in another division…" Zane trailed off at the look on Max's face. He looked at Logan, who had turned from the computers and was watching Max carefully. The pair exchanged a glance that Zane couldn't interpret, and Max shook her head.

"No." She whispered.

"No?" 

"He wasn't in psy-ops." She said in a small voice. 

"He wasn't in psy-ops." Zane repeated. 

"No."

"No." He repeated with a confused expression. 

"Zane, there are some things I haven't told you about what happened with Zack. When we got recaptured. When I-" She paused and met Logan's eyes. "When I died." Brianna's eyes went wide, and she stared at Max, still not moving from the sofa. Max looked at her, and back to Zane. 

"Logan, how long do you think it'll take to get a lead…?" Max asked quietly. 

"Go. I'll call you." Logan replied, handing Max the cell phone. She took it and leaned in for a quick kiss before turning back to her brother.

"Come on Zane. We need to talk." 

"Where are you going?" Brianna asked in a small voice. 

"Out." Max said simply. "But don't worry, we're not leaving you alone with a member of our freak show family. Logan's not a transgenic." She smiled a sarcastically sweet smile that matched her tone perfectly, and Brianna looked down at the ground. Max tapped her ear. "Enhanced hearing." She explained sharply. "Being a freak has some fantastic advantages." Zane gave Max a dirty look before grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the apartment. 

*** Elevator, Fogle Towers, NIGHT ***

"You heard the entire conversation?" Zane asked as the elevator took them down through the lower floors of the building. 

"Nope. Just the end. And the beginning. I managed to miss the whole 'Jai and Kia' thing." Max replied, shaking her head again at the mention, albeit from herself, of Jai and Kia's relationship.

"Could we not dwell on that?" Zane grumbled. He climbed on to the back of Max's bike. "Where are we going?"

 "The high place."

*** Logan's Penthouse, Fogle Towers,  NIGHT ***

Logan sighed, leaning back into his chair and sighing in frustration as he hit another dead end. He glanced over his shoulder at Brianna, who was staring back at him. 

"Can you think of anything else that happened on Thursday?" He asked, tapping a pencil lightly on his desk.

"Nothing significant." 

"We may not be talking significant. Did Kia talk to anyone different, did someone come in and ask directions, anything?"

"I don't think so. We may have had some new clients, maybe, but I didn't talk to anyone." Brianna bit her bottom lip in thought, and shook her head.

"New clients. Can you find out?" Logan leaned forward a little, and dropped his pencil.

"We have details at the school." She answered with a nod.

"What if someone just came in to find out about classes?" 

"We take names, offer them a free class if they sign up within the month." The brunette responded with a slow nod, as if trying to recall something long forgotten.

"You get every person's name?" He demanded, the volume of his voice building in something close to excitement. Brianna bit her lip again, silent.

"Yeah." She finally answered. "Unless they don't want a free class. But everyone usually leaves their details." Logan handed her the portable phone. 

"Find out who visited on Thursday."

"Dave? It's Brianna." She paused, holding the phone to her ear and listening to the answer from her colleague. "No, I'm fine. Fine. Dave! Listen. No, I'm _fine. I need to know some stuff." She paused again, waiting for him to respond. "Not exactly. I need the information for any person we offered the new customer deal to on Thursday. Or anyone that joined on Thursday."   "Yep, phone enquiries too." Brianna clicked her fingers at Logan and pretended to write in the air. He handed her a pen and paper. "Ok, shoot." She wrote furiously on Logan's paper. "Yeah… uh-huh. Ok. Thanks Dave." She stopped again, rolling her eyes. "No, I'll explain later. I don't know. Soon. Bye." She pressed the button to hang up the phone and handed it back to Logan. "Two." She muttered, re-reading the information in front of her. "Miss Emma O'Connell was interested in a self defence class. Mr Renfro asked about our children's classes." _

"Did you say Renfro?" Logan asked, alarmed.

"Yeah, Mr Renfro." She nodded. "A Mr Renfro of…" she paled. "Of '452 Enterprises.' He was at the school." 

"Renfro was the name of the director of Manticore. I've gotta call Max and Zane."

"How did you get into all this?" Brianna asked Logan softly as they waited for the two transgenics to return. 

"Max just kind of dropped in on me one night." He chuckled at the memory. "Zane too, actually." 

"You seem ok with it." She noted, sipping her coffee.

"You don't." He countered, turning to study her.

"No."

"Why?" Logan asked.

"It's a lot to take in. Test tubes, animal DNA, genetic engineering…" She trailed off at the sight of Logan's sceptical expression.

"It's more than that." He observed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's more than that. I have a problem with soldiers. With military." Brianna replied shortly, leaving the chair and her drink and walking to the window that Zane had favoured earlier.

"So you were fine with Kia and Zane when you thought their _families were military, but you're not now." He asked, puzzled, unlocking the wheels on his wheelchair and pushing them backwards and forwards while he tapped his fingers in thought._

"It's complicated." Brianna replied, turning away from the window. Logan smiled, abandoning his computers momentarily and giving Brianna his full attention. 

"Try me." He challenged.

"Let's just put it down to a blood filled history, and childhood traumas best forgotten." She paused, unsure of whether to go on. "Every time I've crossed paths with military, it's ended in me being hurt or losing someone I love." Logan watched her back as she stared out the window, briefly wondering if Max had taken Zane to the Space Needle, which would just be visible from Brianna's position.

"You've known Kia for some time, Brianna. If you could spend some time with Zane and Max…"

"I can't." She cut him off quickly, leaving the window and walking back to the computers and Logan. "Look. I appreciate what you're trying to do. But once Kia's found, I'm leaving." 

"They didn't ask to be soldiers." He reminded her gently. She closed her eyes briefly, as if pushing something out of her mind.

"And I didn't ask to watch my mother and sister die."

"So you won't see Kia again? You're cutting yourself off from her completely?" Logan asked. Brianna paused. 

"Yes." She said finally, pushing the unsure expression from her face. 

"You know, you can't really judge-"

"A book by its cover, yeah yeah. Things aren't always as they seem, blah blah blah. You know what Logan?" He raised his eyebrows in response. "In my experience things _are always as they seem. I go with my gut, trust my instincts, and do what I have to do to survive." She looked down. "Always as they seem." She repeated softly, her gaze faraway._

"Where does the lawyer fit into that?" Zane asked, sweeping into the apartment with Max following closely behind. He didn't wait for Brianna to answer.  "You said you've got a lead." He nodded to Logan.

"White visited the martial arts school." Logan replied, trying to read the expression on Brianna's face. "Left his details, Mr Renfro of 452 enterprises. An address too." 

"He didn't give us enough credibility. It's almost insulting." Max spluttered. 

"Brianna's been here for more than three hours. I'd say he gave us too much." Logan replied.  

"So he leaves a fake name and an address at your front desk, then makes with the kidnapping. What a smart guy." She retorted. 

"It was intentional. He's after you, Max. He's making no secret of that." Zane reminded the pair bluntly. 

"Except it isn't the address. It's a vacant lot." Logan continued. Max let out a frustrated sound and Zane stepped closer to the computers.

"Is the shopping centre connected to this in any way?" Zane asked, exasperated.

"Not that I can see." Logan sighed, tapping at the keyboard. Brianna moved to the sofa and planted herself on it, quietly studying the trio at the computers. 

"Then what the hell does he want?" Zane exclaimed.

"Me." Max reminded him gently. 

"Ok. So the shopping centre guy requesting the footage got the date wrong, is that what we're saying?" 

"For now."  Logan replied, turning briefly to face the puzzled CO.

"White's given us a fake address, but a name that directly connects him to Manticore." Zane muttered, thinking aloud.

"A vacant lot." Logan offered.

"That's all we've got?" Zane asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah." Logan sighed. "And probably all we will get. 

"Then we're taking it." He looked at Max. "Prepare to move out."

"We're moving on _that?_" Max asked. 

"We can't waste time on details."

"Details like where the hell we're supposed to go? Kia is being held by that psycho, who'd probably just as soon sell her for parts than he would as a whole, and you're taking me on a wild goose chase? Damn Zane, think about it."

"No Max, you think about it. We're not getting any warmer here, and this is the closest thing we have to a lead. I'm not going to sit around here for another day while we try and find something. Now move out. That's-" Zane stopped himself before completing his sentence. _That's an order. "That's my decision." He finished. Max nodded, retreating briefly and re-emerging in her standard 'raid' clothes. Zane nodded in approval, pushing his dog off the bag it had claimed as a bed and rifling through it. With a small grunt of satisfaction, he pulled out a small gun and passed it behind him, holding it out to Max. _

"I don't do guns." She said in a small voice. Zane spun quickly, meeting her eyes in disbelief. At the sight of her eyes, Zane softened. 

"Eva?" He asked quietly. Max nodded. "I didn't, not for a while after. Zack made me get over it." He tossed the gun to his other hand, then concealed it, avoiding the stare coming from Brianna. He checked his knife quickly, then re-sheathed it and pulled a near identical one out of his pack and passed it to Max. 

"Ok with knives?" Zane 

"I prefer these." She answered, holding out her hands and making fists out of them. "But if the occasion-"

"It calls for it." He cut in bluntly.  

"Comms?" Max asked Logan. 

"For the two of you, plus another two for Kia and Jai when you find them." Logan called from the desk where he was fiddling with a headset.

"Transport?"  Max called from the bedroom.

"Haven't tracked anything down yet." Logan shouted back, tapping at the keyboard again.

"We could travel faster on your bike." Zane yelled to her, still rifling through his bag,

"We have to get Jai and Kia back here. We don't know what kind of condition she'll be in." Max reminded him, causing Brianna to pale considerably. The others didn't notice.

"The Aztek?" Zane asked, looking to Logan.

"Possibility. Won't be able to bring much computer gear along though." Logan replied, thoughtful. 

"So video surveillance is out?" Max questioned she re-emerged from the bedroom

"If we knew what we were looking for, it'd be a possibility. But we'd need a van." 

"So we find a van." Zane said.

"Then we'll be set." Logan returned to his computer. 

"What about me?" Brianna called from her position on the sofa. Both Zane and Max spun to look at her, exchanging a glance. 

"You're coming too." Zane answered. Max's eyes went wide and she grabbed Zane by the arm. 

"Are you stupid? We can't take her, it's too important!" Max protested wildly.

"Then what do you suggest? Leave her here so that she runs, taking her knowledge of Manticore and who we are with her?"

"Original Cindy could stay-" Zane shot her down with a glare at the mention of Original Cindy. 

"I don't like this." Max folded her arms across her chest. 

"Duly noted." Zane replied sarcastically, storming over to Logan. "What have we got?" He demanded. 

"I've got nothing near the lot at all. Couple of houses, but that doesn't seem likely. I don't think-"

"We're going." Zane ordered in a low, steady voice. 

"Thought Robin was the sidekick?" Logan joked, trying to lighten the mood. Zane gave him a genuine smile.  

"I always wanted to see Robin knock Batman out, take control, beat the bad guys and save the girl." He grinned briefly. "Let's move out." 

*** Building exterior, NIGHT ***

With great frustration, Alec made his way back to the building to again plead his case before White. He had delivered two transgenics already, but was unable to find the third that would keep him alive. He kicked a stone, cursing Max and her CO for not being in the place he had tracked them to after their last meeting. Alec rubbed the back of his neck absently, willing away the barcode that had prevented him from going to a doctor or scientist who could have removed the chip implant. 

*** Flashback, 3 weeks earlier ***

"Nice young thing like you should fetch a profit." The woman practically purred. "Of course, sometimes the boss isn't interested in the sell. Sometimes he just likes to see how fast you can run." She giggled, patting Alec's head.

"What did you give me?" The X5 hissed out through stiff lips. 

"Don't talk honey." The woman said, pulling her dress back over her head. "It'll just make it work faster." She pressed her lips together. "On second thought, talk all you want.

Alec struggled to open his eyes as he felt someone repeatedly kicking at his leg. The X5 quickly assessed the situation, deciding that there was little chance of escape. Although he had more control over his body than he had felt with the blonde woman earlier, his movements were still sluggish, and he was bound to the surgical table.  

"Wakey wakey!" The woman's voice, which at one point Alec had found sexy, came at the X5 from his left, and he turned his head slowly to see her, a pain searing through his neck. He tested his neck by moving his head to the other side, and grimaced as pain hit him from the same spot. 

"Oh, I think he's discovered it already. He's a smart one!" She gushed excitedly. 

"Shut up." White's voice came from behind the woman. "You've got your money, now leave." With a pout, the blonde retreated. Alec swallowed, feeling more pain in his neck at the slight movement. 

"494." White stated simply. "Here's how we're going to play this. I saw you with X5-452 and her Commanding officer. You're going to deliver them to me." Alec remained silent. A short man who had been standing behind White stepped forward eagerly.

"She's important to the cause. We need to find her. Even got our hands on her former commanding officer, but it turns out they wiped his brain." The man let out what could only be described as a giggle. "So we sold him. Scrap metal!" He laughed at his own joke. 

"Hurry up Dickens" White warned the eager man. 

"So now it comes down to you. Tell me you don't know where to find her." Dickens waited expectantly. Alec remained silent. 

"Good. Tell me you _do_ know where to find her." The X5 again stayed silent. "Now that's not right, 494! You're supposed to say 'Of course I know where to find her. I can deliver her here _alive_ in ten minutes.' How does that sound, _494_?" He frowned at Alec's silence. "See the thing is, we don't really care whether or not you succeed. There're enough transgenics overrunning this city that one of them will gladly trade their life for hers." 

"I'm worth too much to you alive for you to kill me." Alec finally croaked out. 

"That's the thing, 494. We've made a bundle from selling your little freak show friends. And we haven't even gotten down to the dead ones yet. See, scientists will pay almost as much for a dead freak as the army will pay for a live one. We can do what we want." He grinned. 

"Then do it." Alec spat out. 

"What _we _want, 494, not what you want. You're of a greater purpose. Bring us 452. If you do, that little explosive that I put in your head is going to stay nice and inactive. If you don't, then kaboom!" He laughed, and White shot him another warning look. Dickens held a tiny chip in his hand, and Alec stared at it. 

"See? Small, isn't it? Thing is, this is positioned right here." He pointed at a spot at the base of his skull and laughed. "And I have this neat remote control," he held the remote control for Alec to see, "which means I can detonate it at any time. Any time, can you believe that!?" He laughed crazily. "One false step and I'll-"

"You have twelve hours." White cut in. 

"She moves around a lot!" Alec said desperately. "It may take me days to find her."

"Then you'd better hurry. You've got days worth of work to do in twelve hours."

*** Later that day ***

"Do you think we're stupid, 494? This isn't her. This isn't even human." Dickens' annoyingly whiny voice screeched. 

"You can make money…" Alec began desperately, noting the presence of the scientist's hand on the button controlling the implant. 

"We don't need money." He grinned, flexing his finger over the button. 

"I can bring you more…" Alec pleaded, looking around in desperation. 

"How many more?" White stepped into his line of vision, and Dickens immediately handed him the implant control. 

"As many as you want." Alec replied quietly, looking at the floor. White smiled at the X5's defeated tone. 

"Here's the deal. Three a day until you find 452. You capture three a day and deliver them and your head stays on your shoulders. You find her, the chip is deactivated. That's it." 

"Three a day." Alec repeated in confirmation of the deal. 

"Until you find 452. Naturally, this deal has an expiry date."

*** Flashback, ten hours earlier ***

"What's your progress on tracking 452?" White snarled, his foot tapping impatiently. 

"Steady progress. I am triangulating her location" Alec replied, hoping that the men weren't too familiar with tracking terms. White looked at him, a sneer curling his lips.

"Thing is, 494, we don't really need you anymore." He snarled.

"We've got a new plan." Dickens cut in. "Meet X5-426. She was in 452's unit. And she's what we in the industry like to call bait." Alec glanced at the woman crumpled in the corner. With his enhanced vision, Alec could just pick out the staggered and sporadic rise and fall of her chest. 

"She won't be much good to you in a couple of hours." Alec replied. Dickens laughed. 

"They don't know that. Far as they know, we didn't kill her when we took her, so we must want her alive." The scientist approached her with a smile. "Maybe we can have some fun before you die?" He grinned at the slumped form and bent over, turning her head to face him. "Such a pretty freak." He whispered, tilting her chin up and leaning in closer to her. Alec felt his fists clench at the sight of the scientist with the defenceless X5 and moved closer, as quietly as he could. He reached out to pull Dickens off the woman at the same time as her eyes flew open, startling both himself and the scientist. Alec stepped backwards, out of the way, and watched as the X5 tightened the hold she had on Dickens' neck. White approached the group, watching coolly as Dickens clawed at X5-426's hand, and gasped for both help and air. The scientist reached for a taser, and aimed it at the X5, sending her back into her slumped position against the wall. White sighed as Dickens swung the taser at X5-426, and walked away at the sound of it connecting with her head. 

"I'm sick of feeding these things." White said to Alec, motioning toward the pair of cat-like transgenics occupying a cage, two thirds of Alec's daily quota. "Make sure you kill the next one before you deliver it." White gave Alec a nasty smile before turning and storming out of the room, Dickens scurrying after him. Alec stared at the cat nomalies, then at the crumpled figure of X5-426, and shook his head, dreading killing the next transgenic he came across. He had to end this. 

He had to find Max. 

*** Surveillance Van, City Street, NIGHT ***

"So we're supposed to just sit here?" Brianna asked with a sigh. 

"Yes." Logan replied, his eyes not leaving the computer. The two transgenics had left the van to assess the situation on foot, leaving Logan to hack surveillance footage of the immediate area, and Brianna bored and nervous.

"Doesn't seem like the most interesting job in the world, playing sidekicks to a couple of super soldiers." She muttered. 

"You'd be surprised." Logan replied, continuing to type and ignoring the term 'sidekick.'

"Why don't you get someone else to do this part?" Brianna asked, looking around at all of the surveillance equipment hastily thrown together earlier. "You could be out there, fighting beside them." She nodded at the exoskeleton. "We could be helping rescue Kia."

"I don't get someone else to do this part because I don't trust anyone else to do this part. It's important." His fingers flew over the keyboard in front of him, and aerial surveillance footage filled the screen. "Max, Zane." Logan spoke into a small headset. "I've got visuals of the area. Nothing sticks out. A couple of small buildings around, but nothing suspicious." He paused as he listened to Max's reply, then smiled. "No," he answered with a glance at Brianna, "just a little cabin fever, I think." He laughed at her reply. "Will do. Be careful." Logan gave Brianna a reassuring smile and went back to typing. 

"I'm just worried." Brianna said in a small voice. "What if they don't find her?"

"They'll find her." Logan answered. 

*** Building Exterior, NIGHT ***

Alec kicked at another rock, pretending it was Max. 

"Damn you." He muttered to the rock. "Why couldn't you have been there? Why couldn't you have _been_ there?" He kicked at the rock again, more furiously, and watched as it sailed away. "No one was going to get killed, least of all me. I was supposed to deliver transgenics until I found you. Why did he have to want them dead? Why did you have to be gone? Why couldn't I find _any god damn transgenics today?!" With heavy feet, Alec approached the building; a small smile twitching at his lips as he noticed a figure crouched in the bushes near the side entrance. _

The figure had a barcode. 

*** City Street, NIGHT ***

"I should have listened to you." Zane muttered, pulling the communication device from his ear in disgust. "There's nothing here. Who am I kidding anyway? I'm not the CO. I'm the jester."

Max followed him, glancing over her shoulder at Logan in the van that was slowly following them. 

_So much for more luck on foot.___

"If you think I'm about to pump your ego by telling you what a fantastic CO you are, you've got another thing coming. Get over your-" Max halted as Zane raised a hand, which quickly formed three short hand signals. Max's eyes went wide and she sniffed the air, nodding. 

"Logan." She whispered into her comm. as Zane replaced his and led the way. "Pull over. We're tracking the scent of an X5, male. Could be Jai. Wait here." The two X5s followed the trail silently.

Ahead of them, Max spotted their target. A small parking lot attached to a building long since abandoned. She gave Zane a quick hand signal. He replied, nodding towards a figure crouched behind a bush bordering the carpark, and the shadow fast approaching it. 

*** Building Exterior, NIGHT ***

With lightning fast reflexes, Alec sprang from behind the transgenic, landing on top of him and pinning him to the ground. The transgenic struggled, launching into full defence mode, but Alec pinned his legs expertly and pushed a gun into the back of his neck. Thinking better of it, he aimed it slightly higher, so as not to destroy the barcode. Alec closed his eyes briefly. 

"Nothing personal buddy, but it's you or me." He said softly. 

"Exactly," agreed a voice from behind him. "But see _Alec, you're wrong. It's not going to be him, it's going to be you." Max grinned as Zane moved in and pulled an outnumbered Alec off the transgenic on the ground._

"Max." Alec grumbled, barely keeping the relief from his voice. "It's not like you think," he said desperately, looking from one pissed off X5 to the next. 

"Max." The unknown X5 repeated, pulling himself off the ground and staring at her. "Zane." 

"Jai." Max answered. She hugged her new-found brother briefly, and Zane flashed him a quick smile before releasing Alec and moving to face him alongside Jai and Max. 

"So explain. Quick." Max demanded. 

"Yep. And it better be good, cause I'm itching to shoot something." Zane grinned wickedly. 

"They put this implant in my neck." He explained, rubbing at the spot to accentuate his point. 

"So far, I don't see a problem." Max said sarcastically.

"They want to catch you. They saw me with you two that night in the forest, and they thought I could bring you to them."

"That doesn't explain why you just tried to kill my brother."

"Brother." Alec repeated, rolling his eyes. "You guys and family."

"Still holding a gun here" Zane called, and Alec tensed. 

"Right. They want Max. So they drugged me, dragged me here, got a mad Manticore scientist to stick a remote controlled chip in my neck, and sent me after you."

"Chip?" Zane asked, exchanging a glance with Max. 

"It'll explode. When they want it to. If I don't meet their deadlines. Blow my head off."

"And?" Max sighed. 

"And I couldn't find you. So they cut me a deal."

"A deal." Max repeated. 

"Three transgenics a day until I found you." A horrified expression crossed Max's face, but was quickly replaced by a furious one. 

"You've killed three transgenics a day? You're disgusting. Give me the gun." She said to Zane, who raised an eyebrow at her and held on to the weapon.

"No, he's the first." Alec protested. "White only threw this little 'dead' condition in today. All of the others have been alive."

"White." Zane repeated, exchanging a glance with Max. 

"Please. You have to help me. If I don't get back in the next thirty minutes, I'm dead." Alec pleaded, looking from one X5 to the next. 

"Help you? I should have wasted your ass long ago. At least now we all get to watch." Zane said sarcastically. 

"I know how to get past them." Alec said desperately. 

"Why should we believe you?" Max reached over and smacked him across the head. His eyes narrowed before relaxing into a pleading expression. 

"Technically, we're related." He tried. 

"Technically, I think I'd rather see your head explode." She snapped back.

"I know where they're keeping 426."

"Kia?" Zane asked, stepping closer to Alec without lowering the gun. 

"She's alive?" Jai asked in a low growl, shooting a threatening look at Alec, and startling the others by breaking his silence. 

"Barely. I know where to find her. It's a mess in there." 

"Fine. You'll help us, then we'll help you." Zane replied. Alec looked nervously at his watch. 

"I don't have long." Alec protested, reaching to touch the back of his neck. 

"Then you'd better hurry." Zane answered, heading toward the building. 

"Ok, ok." Alec replied, walking more quickly in the direction of the building, which boasted a sign that proclaimed 'Emblanda Enterprises' in faded lettering. He turned around, eying up the group. "One of you has medical training, right?"

"A friend gets what's left of the discovery channel. I've got a thing for medical documentaries. Think I could handle a chip." Jai replied in a low monotone. 

"He's kidding right?" Zane grinned into the darkness at the loud gulp that accompanied Alec's question. 

"I don't really know him that well." Zane replied lightly. "Guess we're about to find out." 


	15. Emblanda

**Disclaimer**: Nope, still not mine. But the 'dleep is buying the rights to dark angel' fund is still open for donations… J

**A/N:** Please leave any nasty comments about the chapter delay in a review. Feel free to leave nice comments too. I really backed myself into a corner with the last few chapters of this story, it was a huge mess that's taken forever to write and repair. Thanks to my beta, Aimee, who pointed out that my 'hall' or 'centre' description didn't fit, and that I accidentally resurrected a character. Also, a world of thanks to Abregaza for being so pushy! In a good way!

**Chapter 15 **

**Emblanda**

*** Building exterior, NIGHT ***

"Tell us what you know about Kia." Zane demanded as Max handed earpieces to Jai and Alec. 

"She's not good. Barely breathing last time I saw her, and that was hours ago." Alec answered, avoiding the stares of the other Manticore alumni as he fitted his earpiece.

"What did they do to her?" Jai growled. 

"Not sure. He kicked her, probably some broken ribs out of that. Used a taser on her, then hit her over the head with it." Jai's expression at hearing the words was murderous. 

"He?" Max asked, sure that she already knew the answer. 

"A scientist. He's working with a guy named White."

"Manticore." Jai grunted.

"White isn't. The scientist probably is. I haven't gotten around to getting their life stories yet, but hey, give me a few minutes and I'll-" He cut himself off at the sight of Jai, who was silently fuming. Zane looked at each of them, then turned to face the building.

"Let's move." The CO ordered, striding towards the back entrance. 

"Wait," Alec called after him. The three X5s stopped and turned to face X5-494, each wearing a stony expression. 

"I don't have much time left." Alec finished softly. Max and Zane exchanged looks, then Zane nodded at Jai. 

"Let's get this thing out of your head." Zane said, looking around for somewhere to perform the procedure. 

"In twelve minutes." Alec added. 

"Ahh, deadlines." Jai muttered in a low, sarcastic voice. 

Jai backed away from Alec slowly, letting the X5's hair return to its normal position. Alec rubbed at the back of his neck and looked at Jai, who was wiping a small amount of blood from his hands. 

"I can't get it out," Jai muttered with disdain. "If I try, it'll kill you." Alec exhaled loudly, and looked at each of the three soldiers in turn. 

"So I've got three choices. I can let you kill me, let my time run out and allow that to kill me, or let them see me with the three of you and get killed instantly. Wow. Gotta love the outside world." He grimaced. 

"There's a fourth option." Max said quietly.

"Max." Zane warned.

"They want you to deliver me, so you deliver me. Then the chip gets removed. It's an option." She shrugged.

"No it's not." Zane argued, stepping in front of his sister. "I'm not offering you up as bait, Max."

"I have my big brothers to protect me. I'll be fine." She assured him. "Plus, they'll let Kia go." Max rolled her eyes as a loud and disapproving cough came through the earpiece. "It'll work, Logan. I'll be safe." She told the cough with a half smile.

"That would work," Alec began, "except we know what will really happen." The three X5s turned to him. "I'll walk in with Max, and they'll either blow my head off, or flat out refuse to take the chip out. Then they'll continue to use me to kill or capture transgenics, and kill X5-426 and sell her to scientists for a bundle."

"That's not necessarily what will happen." Zane said hesitantly, his tone betraying his true opinion. 

"Yes it is. So I'm dead either way. Let me go in after her. Guns blazing, playing the hero," Alec quipped with a grin.

"At least let Jai try to get it out." Max argued softly.

"No real point, it won't work. Look. I did bad things. I delivered transgenics to the bad guys. It's my turn." 

"Let's try something else first." Jai spoke up from behind the arguing trio, and looked from the building back to his family with a determined expression.

*** Emblanda Enterprises building, NIGHT ***

"That's the one?" Jai asked in a low voice, nodding towards Dickens. 

"Yeah. He said he wanted to have some fun with her, and she attacked him. So he tasered her and knocked her out." Alec answered in a whisper, stepping backwards and giving the hallway a sweeping glance. The pair had entered the building separately to Zane and Max, who were working towards them from the back entrance. It hadn't taken Alec and Jai long to come across the scientist, who was busying himself in a small room filled with medical equipment. 

"So he's the scientist?" Jai asked, not taking his eyes off the man in the room. 

"Yes." Alec confirmed. 

"Right." With inhuman speed, the two transgenics swept into the room, Jai reaching the scientist first and pulling his gun, aiming it squarely at the man's chest. Alec stepped up behind him and waved. 

"Remember me?" He asked sarcastically. The scientist looked from one X5 to the other, and nodded, swallowing hard. "Remember the chip you put in my head?" Again, Dickens nodded. 

"Remove it." Jai demanded. The scientist smirked. 

"No." He replied simply. 

"I will shoot you." Jai assured him, not breaking eye contact. 

"If you shoot me, no one will help your friend." Dickens taunted, grinning at Alec. Jai gave him a smile of his own. 

"He isn't my friend." His deep voice replied. The scientist flinched, but held his ground. 

"Then it doesn't matter if I don't remove it."

"Not if you don't mind dying." Jai retorted. Alec smiled. Dickens looked around wildly before settling his gaze on Jai once more. 

"If you kill me, who's going to remove chip I put in your friend's head?" 

"I told you, he's not my friend." Jai repeated in a slow drawl. 

"That's not who I was talking about." Dickens smiled. "I mean your other friend. You know. Tall red head, body to die for?" Jai's gun remained steady, but his mouth tightened slightly. 

"He's bluffing." Alec muttered, his voice barely audible. "She was bait, there was no need."

"Funny how the world works, isn't it? You come in here with a gun trained on me, but it's really me that's in control of the entire situation. I find it hilarious." The scientist smirked. Jai's grip tightened on the gun. 

"I've only got two minutes left." Alec whispered. "He's bluffing. Let me shoot him. Go find Kia." Jai turned his head to face Alec, and read the expression of determination on his face. 

"He's all yours." Jai replied in his low, gravelly voice, lowering his gun and stepping aside. X5-494 raised his own gun higher and removed his earpiece, handing it to Jai with a nod. Gun trained on the scientist, Alec gestured for Jai to proceed through the doorway. The X5 jogged past the scientist, who was shaking, and tried the door. It was locked. 

"494!" Dickens exclaimed in a panicked voice. Jai's head whipped around at the designation. 

"494?" He repeated in a whisper, stopping dead. His mind flashed back to his examination of Alec's implant, and he wondered why the significance of the designation hadn't registered. 

"494, please! Think about what you're doing!" Dickens cried. Alec walked closer to the scientist as the man pleaded for his life. "494, I'm the only one that can take that thing out! Please, you don't have much time left."

"Neither do you." Alec replied with a smile. He reached his target, who stood quivering. "In about a minute, I'm going to get a big pain in my neck. Then I'll die. You're going to experience all that too. But you're going first." He tossed the gun over his shoulder and reached out to the scientist, taking his neck in his hands. "Before you go, tell me if you really gave her an implant." Dickens' face was growing bluer, and his eyes bulged. 

"No." He heaved out with a splutter. 

"Good." Alec replied. "By the way, 494 is an extremely impersonal way to address someone. Why don't you call me Alec from now on?" The scientist clawed at the X5's hands. Jai, sick of watching, pushed his weight against the door until the lock gave way. He took a final look at the struggling pair, nodding at Alec again, then made his way through the door. 

"Goodbye, Dickens." Alec smiled at the man. 

"Alec-" The scientist began before being interrupted by the loud crack of his neck breaking. Jai paused just past the doorway without turning around. In his head, he counted down the final seconds to the end of Alec's timeframe, briefly wondering about the accuracy of it. 

He began walking again as the sound of a small explosion reached his ears from behind. 

Max walked slowly down the hall, eyes peeled for signs of White. Zane followed at a safe distance, covering her with his gun. 

"Max, Zane." Logan's voice came through the coms. 

"Clear." Max whispered back. 

"Just got a message from Jai. Alec's dead." Max glanced over her shoulder at Zane, who was still following a safe way behind. He shrugged his shoulders lightly. 

"Where's Jai now?" 

"Heading toward you, as far as I can tell. That place is like a maze." 

"Yeah, well we think that we're-" Max was cut off as White stepped boldly around the corner, attacking her with a taser. 

"Max!" Zane exclaimed before dodging bullets. He returned a few of his own, before deciding the risk was too high. 

"Zane? Zane!?" Logan yelled over the com. "What's happened? Max?" Zane pulled the distraction from his ear and focussed on the battle in the building, as Logan, outside, threw his headset off and abandoned the van, Brianna calling after him. 

*** Emblanda Parking lot, NIGHT ***

"Logan!" Brianna yelled after him as he sprang from the van. "Logan, wait!" He didn't turn, and Brianna let out a nervous yelp before turning to face Logan's surveillance set-up. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door of the van closed and put Logan's discarded headset in place, wishing she'd taken the time to learn more than basic computer skills. 

*** Emblanda Enterprises building, NIGHT ***

Zane stayed in position, not moving, his ears trained on the room in front of him. He cursed his breathing, which had become heavier since White had appeared and taken Max. Concentrating, Zane held his breath, and immediately picked up the sound of footsteps nearing his location. He stepped out from his hiding place and trained his gun on the footsteps. He didn't move his gun as the source of the footsteps came into view. Zane let out the breath he was holding as he recognised the newcomer. 

"Logan." He said, relieved. 

"Zane." Logan answered, lowering his own gun. "What happened?"

"We don't have surveillance?" Zane asked, ducking the question. 

"Brianna's still there. What happened?" Logan repeated, frustrated. 

"You left her there on her own? Has she got a weapon?" The X5 demanded, shoving the earpiece back into his ear roughly. 

"Zane! What happened?" Logan demanded, taking the X5 by the shoulders. 

"Taser." Zane replied softly. "White took her. Alive." He added, watching the colour drain from Logan's face.

"Where is she?" He asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Zane nodded at the closed door across the hall. 

"As far as I can tell, they're still in there." He answered. 

"Not for long." Came a third voice from beside them. Logan and Zane both turned to face him. 

"Jai." Zane muttered, not trying to hide his relief. 

"Is this our eyes?" Jai asked in a gruff voice. 

"Logan, Jai." 

"We don't have eyes." Jai accused. 

"We have surveillance." Logan responded, and Jai handed him the spare earpiece.

"I wouldn't call her that." Zane muttered.

"So limited eyes." Jai affirmed. "That's ok, I have something better." He stepped aside to reveal a pile of explosives.

"Looks like the scouts have been taking their motto a little too seriously." Logan dead panned. Zane gave him a puzzled expression before shrugging his shoulders. 

"Whatever. You ready for this?"

"Are you clear on what to do?" Zane asked Logan for the third time, and Logan nodded again. Jai was leaned over the explosives he had 'borrowed,' wiring some together expertly. 

"He knows, Zane. Shut up." Jai growled in annoyance. "These are ready. We should get through the door on the first blast. From there, it's just a matter of-"

"You know, if a girl relied on the three of you to save her, she'd be waiting all day." Max joked, interrupting from the opposite doorway. "Just how long were you planning on leaving me there?"

"Max!" Zane exclaimed with a grin, looking from Jai to the pile of explosives next to the door. "Shame, it would have been a pretty show." Jai shrugged and gave Max a smile of his own. She finally turned to Logan, who was looking as if he would burst. She raised her eyebrows at him and he gave her a relieved smile. 

"Scare a guy to death." He said by way of explanation, taking her quickly into his arms for a hug. Jai coughed, and Logan and Max turned to face the other X5s. 

"What did you do to White?" Zane asked Max. 

"Taste of his own medicine. When he wakes up, he's going to have one helluva taser burn," she grinned. 

"You didn't kill him?" Zane burst out, a look of utter disbelief on his face. 

"No." She answered defiantly, putting one hand on her hip. 

"Max…" Zane warned, looking from her to the door she had just come through. 

"No. I'm not like that. I removed the danger, and now I'm-"

"You haven't removed the danger, Max! He's gonna wake up and come after you! He'll always come after you. This guy's a freak. He's seen the crap that Manticore scientist made up about you, and now he thinks you're his saviour or some bullshit." Zane lowered his voice. "He won't give up, Max. He's a danger." 

"I can handle it."  

"He took Kia this time. Who knows who he'll go after next? Krit? Jondy? Hell, he could even drag Logan into this." Zane's face was growing progressively redder. 

"Zane-" Logan cut in. 

"No." The commanding officer replied in a hard voice. "We've got enough enemies in our lives. I'm not losing the chance to take one out." He pushed past Max, only to be grabbed from behind by strong hands. He turned around angrily to face Jai.

"No." Jai's deep voice argued. "This one's me. For Kia. He's mine." Zane nodded, speechless as a result of Jai's stony expression. 

"Take Logan with you." Zane ordered. Max looked at him in alarm. "Don't argue, Max. He needs backup, and we need to stay on alert. You won't carry a weapon, and I'm a better shot than Logan. It's an even match up." Max glared at him briefly before nodding. 

"After you've done it, find Kia. We need to work fast. We don't know if guards will be arriving, or what kind of condition Kia's in. Call in, and then continue on. If you find her, call it in." Jai and Logan nodded, Logan quickly checking the weapon Jai handed him. He glanced up, catching Max's eye. 

"Be careful." They each said at the same time, before turning in opposite directions. 

Zane and Max walked steadily down the hall, stopping once in a while to check small rooms within the building. 

"They've been gone forever." Zane complained, checking his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

"We know they're safe. Logan called in." Max argued, trying hard to convince herself. 

"Jai just killed a man. I'd feel better if I knew where they were." Max continued walking, and Zane checked behind them, covering both directions. 

"This was your idea, remember? We're covering more ground this way. We need to find Kia, and this is the quickest way to do it." At Zane's insistence, Max had drawn the knife, and now carried it as she walked along. 

"We have no idea where she is." He complained, checking over his shoulder again before bumping into Max, who'd stopped dead in her tracks. 

"We're closer than you think." She whispered, seconds before the smell hit him. With a shaking breath, Zane was dragged back to his childhood as he placed the odour. The smell was Manticore, or, more specifically, Manticore soldier. 

Dead Manticore soldier.

*** Emblanda Parking lot, NIGHT ***

In the van, Brianna sat, listening in fascination to the operation occurring in the building, occasionally answering calls from the group inside. 

_You left her there on her own? Has she got a weapon?_

_You didn't kill him?_

_I'm not losing the chance to take one out._

Listening to Zane's voice over the coms only served to further confuse Brianna. She shook her head lightly and concentrated on the voices coming at her.

*** Emblanda Enterprises building, NIGHT ***

"Max, stop." Zane called, reaching out and grabbing her by the arm when she didn't answer. She turned, eyes wide, and waited for him to speak. "This may not be what we think." He said softly.

"Do you remember that smell?" She asked in a low voice. Zane stared back at her, nodding. 

"I remember."

"What do you remember, Zane?" 

"I remember rain." The CO mumbled. Max nodded in memory, eyes far away. "I remember rain and mud. Days of rain and mud. It didn't stop, and it didn't hide the smell."

"Endurance." Max whispered. 

"Endurance." Zane repeated. "Three weeks in the rain, in the mud, ready to fire upon any sighting of the rival unit." 

"And them upon first sighting of us." 

"Three weeks in the rain, in the mud, with enemies watching, and a soldier rotting beside us." Zane continued, voice still low. 

"Crux." 

"Crux." He paused, lost in thought. "Zack told us to ignore him. Acceptable casualty. But the smell…" 

"I hated Crux for that smell." Max cut in, feeling guilty as she uttered the words. 

"I hated Zack for making us leave him there. He deserved more." Zane stared off into space.

"Endurance." She repeated softly. 

"Some battles aren't worth winning." 

"The Manticore leash." Max whispered. "That's the first time we really broke it, you and me." Zane nodded at the memory. 

"First time I deliberately disobeyed my CO." Zane muttered back.

"Every second that we were burying him, I felt like I should be leaving him there. Following orders." 

"We didn't follow their orders, Maxie." Zane reminded her, and she turned to face him. 

"Did you ever tell Zack it was us?"

"No." He shook his head, as if shaking away memories, and turned back to Max. "Head in the game, soldier. We've got a different sibling to rescue." With sinking stomachs, the pair entered the room. 

*** Emblanda Parking Lot, NIGHT ***

In the van, Brianna wiped away a tear as she listened to Max and Zane recalling the event from their childhood. The crackle of static in her ear pulled her out of her thoughts. 

_Do you remember that smell?_

The smell? With a jolt, Brianna realised that the pair had been discussing the smell of the rotting soldier, and comparing it to something that was happening right now. Her hands shook as she smoothed her hair back, waiting for the call that would tell her whether or not it was her best friend's body that was rotting inside of the building. 

*** Emblanda Enterprises Building, NIGHT ***

Max and Zane entered the room slowly, each dreading what they would find there. The smell was overpowering to their finely tuned senses, and Max walked with one hand held up to her face. 

They didn't have to walk far. 

To one side of the large room was a cage containing the dead Manticore soldier. Max held her breath reached for Zane's arm, not wanting to keep her eyes open. 

"Female X series." Max whispered. "It's her, isn't it?" She stopped, unable to move forward. Zane continued on, moving steadily to the cage, stopping when he got close enough to examine the body. With a shaking hand, he reached into the cage and moved the soldier's hair, cut in Kia's style, to the side.  

Visibly paler, he turned to Max, who was standing in the same place, watching his movements silently. He shook his head, the movement so small that she might have missed it had she not been studying him so intently. She let out the breath she had been holding. 

"Zane, Max." Brianna's shaky voice came over the coms. "Logan and Jai found Kia. We're leaving."  Max and Zane exchanged a glance before leaving the room, neither of them saying a word. 

"Max! Zane!" Logan called, causing both soldiers to stop and turn. Logan and Jai were just rounding a corner, Jai carrying Kia, who appeared to be unconscious. Zane shook his head, as if trying shake the image of the dead soldier he'd just seen, and met Jai halfway down the hall. Max followed, reaching out and taking Logan's hand silently. Logan gave her a worried look, and pulled her a little closer to where he was standing. 

"The bad guys are gone, the girl's saved, let's get the hell outta here." Zane muttered, giving the unmoving Kia a quick look. 

"Don't know about saved." Jai muttered, looking worriedly at the figure in his arms. "She's not looking good."

"All the more reason to get out of here." Zane remarked tersely, leading the way to the exit.  

*** Emblanda Parking Lot, NIGHT ***

Hearing the others approach, Brianna removed her headset and pulled open the door of the van, much to Jai's surprise, who looked as though he might drop Kia at the sight of her.

"Brianna!" Jai exclaimed. 

"Is she…?" Brianna gasped by way of answer, staring at the unmoving Kia. 

"Alive for now." Zane answered. "She'll need medical attention quickly." Logan nodded, moving to the driver's seat and handing Max his cell phone. 

"Speed dial three." He barked out, starting the car. Max dialled the number. 

"Sam? It's Max. We've run into some trouble, I need you to help my sister. Can we meet you at the clinic?" Max listened to the doctor's answer at the other end of the phone. "We're at least half an hour away." She let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sam. We'll see you soon." Max cast another worried look Kia's way. 

"Can I help?" Brianna asked, concerned.

"We can take care of our own." Max replied hotly, shifting so that she was facing Jai. 

"Our own?" Jai repeated in his low voice. He took in Brianna's expression. "Oh, hell no. What happened?" He threw an accusatory look at Zane. 

"Not me. It was…" He paused, looking at Max. "A friend. An accident." 

"Kia's not going to like this." Jai said flatly. 

"You sent her here. What did you expect would happen?" Zane said defensively. 

"So what are you going to do about it?" Jai shot back, ignoring Brianna's stare.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Brianna burst out, looking at each X5 in turn. Jai was focussed solely on Kia, and barely acknowledged her. Max glared at her, and Zane stared out the window, avoiding her gaze. None of them answered her. 

"I didn't do anything wrong, you know." She continued. "You guys are the ones that lied to me. I haven't done anything to deserve getting shut out of this."

"Have to disagree with you there and remind you of the 'freak show family' comment." Max muttered. Brianna turned to her, tears in her eyes. 

"I was upset." She said softly, looking nothing like the fiery woman Zane had met at the martial arts school. 

"Yeah, well now I am too." Max retorted. Zane leaned over and placed a warning hand on Max's arm. She looked up angrily, but he shut her down with his expression. 

"Enough." He said simply, meeting her eyes and shaking his head. Brianna threw him a grateful look, which he didn't acknowledge. 

"Logan, what's our ETA?" Max called instead, leaning forward to the front seat. 

"We should reach Sam in just under twenty minutes." Logan replied, catching her eye in the rear view mirror. 

"Can he be trusted?" Zane questioned. Max nodded and turned to Kia. 

"She's not looking good." Max noted with a concerned expression. "How much longer do you think-"

"Not much." Jai responded bluntly. "At best, an hour. There's more to this than broken ribs and taser burns." Max closed her eyes briefly. 

"At worst?" 

"She may not make the trip to the good doctor." His stony reply came, and Max looked away. 

"How can you say that?" Brianna blurted out, attracting the stare of the three conscious X5s. "You can't give up on her like that! She's strong. She'll make it." She looked down at her lap. "She'll make it. She has to." Max looked from Brianna to Kia, then scrambled over the front seat to sit next to Logan. Zane watched briefly as she leaned against Logan for comfort. He turned to Jai, who was stroking Kia's hair softly. 

"She has to." Brianna repeated, tears streaming down her face. Zane watched her rocking gently and reached for her hand in the darkness of the car. He took it hesitantly, and she squeezed it tight, not looking at him, but not pulling away. 


	16. Recovery

_Disclaimer: Still not mine, still wish it was._

_A/N: Almost there, one chapter to go! As always, thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed, thanks to Aimee, thanks to Abregaza. You guys have been a great help._

****

**Recovery**

*** Logan's Penthouse, DAY ***

"You can't stay at the school," Zane informed his sister firmly, taking a seat beside her bed in Logan's guest room. She jerked her head up at his abrupt tone, defeat already present in her expression.

"He's gone." Kia argued weakly, with a sigh. It had been almost a week since Dr Carr had resuscitated Kia, and, while recovering, she'd been obeying every command that Zane had issued her with. 

"Yeah, but how long until another opportunist decides to donate your body to science? You can't stay there." Kia nodded sadly, accepting his order. "Or here." He continued, anticipating her next question. 

"You're separating us." She accused softly, tears welling in her eyes. Zane's expression softened. 

"No. I'm relocating you. Both of you. I'm sorry about the school, Kia, but I don't see why the two of you can't stay together." With a high pitched cry, Kia threw her arms around Zane in relief. 

"Be careful little sister. You're still healing." He laughed, gently pulling her arms from around his neck. "I'm in the process of getting something set up for you and Jai." Kia beamed at him from her bed. 

"What about Brianna?" She asked, in almost a teasing tone.

"What _about_ Brianna?" Zane replied hotly. Kia's expression fell, and became serious.

"She's not safe either." Kia pointed out, watching closely for his reaction. 

"I know."

"They can use her to get to me." She told him urgently.

"I know." The CO replied firmly. 

"What are you going to do?"

"It'll be her choice. It's either cut herself off from you completely, or cut herself off from everything else." Zane rose from his chair and moved to the window, staring into the city.

"Not much of a choice." Kia muttered. Zane kept staring.

"Still a choice," he replied without turning around.

"What about you?"

"Planting roots here. My location hasn't been compromised."

"I mean what about you and Brianna?" She clarified, frustrated, sure that he understood what she was trying to ask him. 

"There is no me and Brianna." Zane replied flatly, still facing the window. 

"Zane, I saw you two back at the school, you can't tell me that there's no you and Brianna." Kia insisted with a laugh. Zane turned to face her, cutting her laugh short. 

"A lot has changed since then. She's made it very clear that I'm not welcome in her life." 

"Why?" 

"Maybe that's something you need to discuss with her." He avoided her gaze, trying to rid himself of Brianna's comments only days before. 

"I don't understand." Kia's confused voice answered. 

"It's something that involves you directly, Kia. I think you'd better discuss it with Brianna."

"What's this about, Zane? What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything." He answered quietly, moving away from the window and sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Then what are you talking about?"

"Just talk to her, Kia." He hesitated. "If she'll listen."

"This is about Manticore, isn't it?" She asked in a small voice. Zane looked away, fixing his eyes on a point on the opposite wall. He looked back to her and tucked her hair behind her ear gently. 

"Get some rest. You've had a big couple of days." Zane soothed, trying desperately not to notice the fresh tears in her eyes. 

"Zane." He closed his eyes briefly.

"Yes?" 

"Are we the bad guys?" 

"Get some rest, little sister." He stroked her hair softly, and she closed her eyes, trapping tears between her eyelashes. Zane watched her until her breathing deepened, then, with a sigh, he left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Jai sat watching him, keeping close guard over Kia's room. 

"She asleep?" Jai asked gruffly. 

"Yeah." Zane sighed again, walking over to the sofa and flopping down onto it. 

"How are you handling all this?" Jai asked with a frown. 

"I feel like hitting something." 

"Me too." Jai agreed, meeting Zane's eyes and issuing a silent challenge. 

*** Jam Pony, DAY ***

"So Original Cindy's not about to be shot by a pissed off Manticore soldier?" Original Cindy asked with a smile. Max grinned back. 

"Not this week. Just don't go hanging any underwear on my baby. Hate that." The pair laughed, catching the attention of Sketchy, who wandered closer, only to be distracted by a female customer entering the building. Original Cindy watched him, then glanced around to ensure their conversation remained private. She lowered her voice. 

"Sounds pretty serious, boo. Sister almost dyin' an' all." Max nodded. 

"Things were intense for a while." She sighed, recalling the events of the past few days and wondering, for what seemed like the hundredth time, where Zane was staying while Brianna was confined to his apartment. 

"So now what?" Original Cindy asked, rolling her eyes at Normal, who was bipping at them from across the room. 

"Now what?" Max repeated, following OC's gaze and smiling. 

"How much longer are your new-found siblings planning on hanging in Seattle?" 

"Kia and Jai head off this afternoon. Big secret location." Max grinned. "No black helicopters allowed."

"And their fine friend?" 

"Brianna? Not sure. Haven't had an incredible amount of contact with that one."  

"Looks like you about to, boo." Original Cindy replied, nodding at the doorway. 

*** Raymond's coffee house, DAY ***

"I have a thing about soldiers." Brianna said, moving the ridiculously overpriced cup of bad coffee around the table. "A thing." Max repeated, shifting her gaze from the cup to Brianna. 

"My mother and sister were killed by soldiers." Brianna continued softly. 

"Mine too." Max answered with less anger in her tone. "Well, I'm not certain about my mother. Probably. By now." The X5 lowered her eyes. 

"There's a lot I don't know about your family." Brianna pushed at her cup again.  

"A lot of things I would rather forget about my family." 

"I'm sorry about your brother." She said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Zane?" 

"Your other brother. The one when you were young, with the endurance test. I'm sorry about Crux." Brianna took in a shaky breath, wondering if the X5 would mind the eavesdropping she had done whilst in the van days earlier. Max nodded slowly. 

"Do you have any brothers?" Max asked softly. Brianna shook her head. "I used to have more brothers." The X5 smiled sadly. "Still have a few of them floating around." 

"I'm sorry about some other things too." Brianna began. "I'm sorry I didn't take all of this very well. I wigged out. Some pretty big things to take in."

"I guess so. It's not everyday you hear of the existence of genetically engineered soldiers, then find out that your best friend is one of them. Not to mention her boyfriend. And yours."

"I was rude." Brianna, ignoring the reference to Zane as 'her boyfriend.'

"Yes." Agreed Max, hiding a smile. 

"Sorry." Brianna smiled sheepishly. "If you like, you can beat me up. Though I have to warn you, Zane tried that a few weeks ago and didn't get very far." 

"I heard about that." Max laughed. She looked over Brianna's shoulder, then back at her coffee. "I guess I understand." The X5 replied in a low voice. "It's not okay, but I understand. I think that's the best I can offer right now. You hurt him." She said softly. "And me. I'm not the sort of person that forgives quickly, not when it comes to my family. You hurt him, and that was bad enough. But when they tell Kia…" Max sighed. "When they tell Kia that her best friend doesn't want anything to do with her, it ain't gonna be pretty. But hey, you're trying. You've come here, bought me a cup of mud they have the audacity to call coffee, and you've apologised. It's a start." She grinned. "In a few months, I might actually like you." Brianna grinned back at her. "I'll take a raincheck on that ass kicking." Max finished.  

"There's something I wanted to tell you." Brianna said, almost shyly. "Actually, I wanted to tell Zane. But I don't think I'm up to that. See, we talked about people that did bad things. People that were bad by circumstance. And people that were just flat out evil." She looked down at her hands. "What I wanted to say was that although your history and your background shape who you are…" She trailed off at Max's expression, which was not positive. "See, I read this quote yesterday, and it seemed so right, I thought that…" she stammered. "Well…" Brianna looked up at the sky, as if it would help her to remember the words. "I memorised it, but I wrote it down, just in case." She scrambled around in her bag, finally pulling out a small piece of paper. She took a deep breath. "The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." Brianna quoted softly. 

"Well said." Max gave her a smile. "I think there are a few other people I know that could do with those words." With a sigh, Brianna nodded. 

"I know." She said. "I'm not looking forward to having those conversations."

***** Three days later *****

*** Zane's apartment, DAY ***

With a sigh, Zane pulled the door closed behind him and walked slowly and deliberately to the fridge, every muscle in his body aching. He allowed himself a grin as he wondered how Max must be feeling after the same sparring session. 

Zane froze, milk carton to his lips, and tensed. The X5 sniffed the air for a moment and then finished his drink, not turning around. 

"How long have you been here?" He asked his refrigerator in a steady voice.

"Not long." Brianna answered from across the room. 

"Kia and Jai have already left." He said in a clear monotone, still not turning around.

"I know. I'm not here for them. I came here to talk to you." Zane finally turned, taking in the sight of her in front of him. She flinched, a reaction to the darkening bruises on his face that tomorrow would be but memories of yet another fight. She shifted uncomfortably on the sofa, nodding to the overstuffed recliner. Zane raised an eyebrow, but decided to co-operate. He lowered himself into the chair and looked at her expectantly. 

"You're angry." Brianna noted. 

"Not really." Zane replied lightly. 

"That's ok." She assured him, folding her hands in her lap again and again. 

"Why thank you." He muttered sarcastically. 

"I came here to talk to you." Brianna repeated. Her obvious discomfort made his heart ache, and he hated himself for treating her badly. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to rid himself of the comments she had hurled at him days earlier. 

_I don't want anything to do with you or your freak show family. As far as I'm concerned, you should never have existed. _

_My life was fine until you waltzed in and claimed my best friend as a member of your genetically superior army. I only hope you can leave as quickly as you came. _

"Zane…" The sound of her voice saying his name made his heart melt, and he cleared the negative thoughts away. 

"I'm listening." He said calmly. 

"I've apologised to Kia and Jai. We talked for a while, sorted out truth from lies. I've decided to relocate with them. It's probably safer that way anyway." Zane nodded in agreement.

"See, after my, well, outburst, I really hated myself." Brianna began, absently picking at a loose cloth in the sofa. "I've always prided myself on being a really open and objective person." She looked down at her lap. "I never realised I was so shallow. I'm sorry." Zane heard her take a deep breath. "I knew Kia as a person for a really long time. She's a really great person. And then I met Jai, and he's great too. So I can't allow myself to get lost in surface details. Kia and Jai are my friends, no matter what species or whatever they are. I'm not deserting them for anyone or anything." 

Zane dared to look hopeful that she was going to voice similar comments about their delicate new relationship. 

"And then you came along." Brianna took another deep breath, thankful for his ongoing silence, but intimidated by it at the same time. "And you were really great too. You obviously cared a lot about Kia, and when you looked at me I felt really special. We shared a really incredible week while you waited for Kia to come back. It was fantastic." She paused, looking around the apartment for inspiration. "Anyway." She glanced at him for a moment, and then returned her gaze to the loose thread, which was now considerably longer. "I like you. I really do. I don't know what we had, but I think it could have been good." She swallowed. "But it has to end." She met his eyes sadly. "I can't get into this with you. I can't give myself to you when your entire life is built around keeping secrets and staying hidden. You're-" She swallowed again. "Things are about to get a whole lot more difficult for you. There's more exposure, and people will be hunting for you and your-" She stopped, not wanting to say _'your kind' _"For your family. I'm not ready to be a part of that. I'm sorry."

"That's your reason?"

"Yes."

"I could protect you. Keep you safe." Zane countered desperately. 

"You've got the rest of your family to worry about. Look. I just wanted you to know that I accept what you are and where you've come from. I just don't want to be a part of that world and the direction you're headed in." Brianna rationalised calmly.

"I'd never put you in danger."

"Not deliberately." He looked away, thinking of Kia and her disappearance. "Zane, it's not just that. Moving away from the Phoenix school was a really difficult decision. I have roots, I have friends and family, and I don't like to leave them. I can't relocate at the drop of a hat and I don't want to have to." 

"I understand." 

"I'm sorry." She said with her head down.

"I know." Zane heard her breath catch in her throat.

"We would've been great, wouldn't we?" She asked through tears. He smiled and wiped her tears away, drawing her into an embrace. 

"We were."

He watched her leave, leaning in the door frame until she had disappeared down the staircase and he heard the door to the apartment block swing shut behind her. Finally turning, he headed back to the kitchen. 

Zane looked up in surprise as the door swung open again to reveal Brianna standing there. 

"Maybe stability and safety are overrated." She grinned. He crossed the room quickly and pulled her into a tight hug. She pulled away and slapped him as hard as she could. He jerked his head back in surprise. 

"That's for lying to me." She grinned, and slapped him again. "And that's for not coming after me just now." Another slap. "And that's for not preventing that last slap when I knew you could." He grinned at her, which earned him another slap. "That one's for goodbye. I'm going to see how Kia has ruined our new apartment with her terrible sense of style. There's still time to fix it."

"You're not staying?" Zane asked incredulously.

"Nope."

"What happened to stability and safety being overrated?"

"Didn't say they weren't. Didn't say I was staying either. Night." Zane stood dazed, watching her retreat, in utter confusion. She rounded the corner of the stairs, and he jumped the rail and swung in just in front of her, landing neatly on the steps. 

"Show off." She muttered, before being drawn into a kiss. 

"See you soon." He whispered, and she pulled her hand back to slap him again, only to have her wrist captured by his own. She raised her eyebrows in approval, withdrew her hand and continued down the stairs, leaving the X5 alone, confused, and with a smile plastered all over his face. 

"Soon." She repeated at the bottom of the staircase, sure he could hear her. Zane glanced over the railing and watched the door close, shaking his head in amazement. 

"I will never understand her." He mumbled, climbing the stairs again and heading for his refrigerator. 


	17. Epilogue

_A/N: Well, I've done it. By the time I post this, it'll be a year since I started this story. Thanks for everyone that's ever reviewed this story, I really appreciate it. A world of thanks to Aimee, my beta, a fantastic magician that's perfected the art of disappearing. :p Couldn't have finished it without you! Apologies to Sorrow Reminiscence, and anyone else that didn't want certain unnamed characters killed off. Thanks to Kyre, your episode transcripts are fantastic. And thank you to Abregaza, who pushed me to finish this fic. _

_As for a sequel…___

_This was a huge effort for me, so the sequel (or semi-sequel) will not be as involved or long. I think of it more as a light-hearted snapshot into Zane, Brianna, Max, Logan and co's lives in this AU. The jumps through time will be bigger, the updates probably more sporadic. (Yep, it's possible.) Look for it soon. I haven't titled it yet, haven't written it yet, but it's coming. _

_It has been said that I didn't resolve the M/L relationship enough. (Or it will be said once this is read by more people.) I have an extra chapter waiting in the wings that I'll post separately to this story, so look out for it._

_Finally…_

_I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic, and the world I created to replace season two. On with the epilogue!_

**Epilogue**

*** Zane ***

It's strange to see Max holding a weapon. 

I see her, almost out of sight, the gun trained on an enemy just out of my field of vision. She turns and gives me a hand signal saying that she has the target in range. I give her one back, telling her that it isn't time. She rolls her eyes at me, but does as I want, and keeps her weapon trained on the target. I hold my own gun ready. I'm the lookout, and my eyes are peeled for the enemy. I can feel the familiar surge of adrenalin starting to pump through me. This is what I was made for. Jondy stands nearby, covering another weak point in our location. I can't see Kia, but I know she's close, as Max has just signalled to me that she has another one in sight. It's time to move. 

I feel the enemy before they make themselves known, the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, and my heart quickens. They've seen us. Max is gesturing frantically that Kia is in danger. They've found us. Something hits the back of my neck and I spin, just in time to watch Jondy get hit. 

I see them. They've tricked us all along; they knew our location and were watching us long before we were watching them. With a sinking heart I realise that the ones Max and Kia were aiming at were decoys, planted there to lull us into a false sense of security. These people are professionals, I remind myself as I'm hit again. I try to fire back, but my attacker is in a tree, protected by the leaves and branches. It's impossible to know if I've hit them. Max lets out a shriek, she's hit too. I only hope she has time to use her own gun, so that the enemy does not go unpunished. 

They have won. 

Brianna is the first to stop firing; leaping from a tree and landing with the grace that made me think she was Manticore when we first met. She has on her face a satisfied and extremely cocky smile as she surveys the damage she has done. The next to show herself is Syl, falling from the same tree and firing at me as she does so, with an expression of glee and absolute joy. Jai follows, emerging from Kia's hiding place with her in tow, soaked from head to toe with water. She's giggling, and still pointing her gun at him, spraying him with bursts of water. Krit and Logan emerge, the decoys, smiling at each other in victory, though soaking wet due to their sacrifice. Max follows a little way behind, and has caught up with Jondy. The pair are whispering conspiratively. 

"Victory!" Syl yells, and her team mates cheer happily. Max looks at me with daggers in her eyes. She's never been one that loses well. 

"You had more soldiers." She grumbles at them. 

"You had more X5s" Logan points out gleefully. In answer to that, Max removes the cap from her gun and empties the remainder of her 'ammo' over his head. I haven't known Logan for too long, but I've learnt that he _loves _to win. This has made for interesting arguments between him and Max. He takes off his glasses and wipes them in defeat, and Max waits until he replaces them before she takes the bucket from Jondy and empties that over his head as well. He gives in and pulls her to him playfully. I watch them, thinking how lucky they are to have found one another. I sneak a look at Brianna, who is talking with Kia. I definitely don't understand her. Max says that's a good thing. 

It's been months, and we still haven't found Brin. Kia is settling into her new job, but I know she misses her old one. The upside is that she still has Brianna as a friend, which makes things easier to bear. I'm still getting used to the idea of Kia and Jai. It's strange, but as long as they're happy, I don't really mind. I've been seeing Brianna off and on, she stubbornly refuses to move to Seattle, and I just as stubbornly refuse to leave my family here. 

Max and Jondy are almost as inseparable as Max and Logan. Actually, I think even more so. It's great, her being here so often. Zack would have a heart attack if he knew how many X5 reunions we've been having. We know that they aren't looking for us, well, at least not as the 'rogue X5s' that they spent so many years chasing. I don't think it's even the same 'them' anymore. Now we're hunted as transgenics, and that's a long way from being over. A sad sign of the times is that we all have someone in our lives that is getting proficient at removing our barcodes on a regular basis- I suppose it's not really that sad- the fact that we each have someone in our lives that we trust enough to do it is a really good thing. From my perspective anyway. 

Rush didn't check in on the contact number. I asked Logan to stop broadcasting the message after our rescue mission, and he did. I've changed the number several times since, but still keep the old one live just in case. I like to think that he's ok, and that he's out there, and just doesn't own a television. That he never saw the message. Or that he's trying to forget Manticore's existence, and us with it. 

Sebastian is still figuring out the ends of the information in the briefcase. Max and I really don't know what we want to do with it yet. It's extremely dangerous, but it also contains the answers to our questions, and to questions we haven't asked yet. We're all in there somewhere, and Manticore's operation and plans are all there, neatly stored in the intricate mazes of information and scrambled encoded pathways the thing is composed of. For the moment we're content to let Sebastian play around with it – it's a complex database and he's still having fun with it. I'm happy to let him be our Manticore guru. In any case, it's helped us get a little closer to finding Zack, so keeping it around has worked out there. 

I'm not a perfect CO. I let Brin get away – I don't know if she's alive or dead, loyal to Manticore or to herself, or if she'd try to kill her brothers and sisters if she ever ran into any of us. But I know she's out. It's not enough for me, and certainly not enough for Max, to know that. Max carries around an incredible amount of guilt over Brin. She blames herself for the others too, Eva, Tinga, Ben, and especially Zack. We're unsure about Zack. How to find him, the condition that he's in, it's mostly a mystery. It's the most important reason for the briefcase. We know he's alive. It's not enough.  

The animosity people harbour towards transgenics is escalating, and I don't know when it will end. We've become the scapegoats for everything, especially in Seattle. Logan has broadcasted about us again and again, but the only thing to come of that was more enemies for Eyes Only. Logan is considering leaving Seattle, for Max's sake. Of course, when he tells her that, she won't be the reason, but I know the truth. He worries. We talk about it endlessly. I don't know if she'll leave her friends, but talk of war between transgenics and the 'true' citizens of Seattle is increasing, and has all of us concerned. 

So I'm not the perfect commanding officer. In fact, most of my brothers and sisters, like Max, have told me in unmistakeable terms that I am _not_ their commanding officer. That they don't even need commanding officers. That sits okay with me as well. It doesn't stop me worrying about them. They've become accustomed to me ringing at odd hours of the night to check in. Syl once unplugged her phone just to annoy me. I made it there in two hours. She always leaves it plugged in these days. 

I've brought them back together, for which most of them are extremely grateful. I don't think that many of them have forgiven Zack for keeping us apart. They understand his reasons, but they don't forgive him. Especially since we've decreased in number since the escape. 

I can't know what's waiting around the corner. Maybe I should write to Manticore and ask them for a lend of a brain unit. 

I have my family, and they have each other. I have friends, (albeit borrowed from my sister) a job, a place to call home, a few hangouts, and a dog. I also have my unit; Max, my 2IC, Jondy, Kia, Jai, Syl, Krit, Jace, Rush and Brin. Then there's Zack. He left me in charge of them. I would gladly exchange my life to save any of them. They may not want it or need it, but I will always look after them. They are my family. 

And like it or not, I'll always be their CO. __


End file.
